No97

Dear Customers & Friends
*For the customers who use credit card for the payment---as we notifed in our e-mails, the future charge by credit card is going to be in yen basis only, in about 16 hours from now. Until then, if you submit the payment at the credit card settlement site sent from us, the charge is in dollar basis.Thank you very much for your understanding. If you have any questions about this matter, please feel free to e-mail us.
Hello from Japan! This is Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.97.These days it is very hot as if it is already in summer season. In the afternoon we only need to wear a T shirt to work. Before real summer comes, we need to have 'tsuyu'(rainy season), and we can enjoy the 'hotaru'(lightning bugs/firefly).One of the most good motifs for kimono now must be the water plants and 'hotaru'. By the way we Japanese are very proud of the boom of remaking Japanese horror movies ( for example 'The Ring') in the world. We read that Japanese horror movies have different taste of horrors compared to Western's horror movies - more quite, but more scared. We don't know it is only in Japan, we enjoy scary stories especially in the summer. To get scared to be cold in hot night.
The most scared story I have heard was one I heard when I was a school boy. Our class went to a shrine in Mt. Koya for a summer camp school when I was 11 years old. Mt. Koya is one of the famous 'rei-zan'( mountain near the spiritual world), and many old shrines are built. In olden times, Mt. Koya was limited for men, and women were not allowed to be in. In a night we were gathered in a large room of shrine, and a teacher told us the story the below.
Once upon a time, it was a story when women was not allowed to climb the Mt. Koya. A women lived with her baby at the base of Mt. Koya. Her husband went for work, and they lived alone. One day her baby was suddenly taken ill, but near her home she couldn't get medicines. She was told that there was medicine in a house in the Mt. Koya. She couldn't look for anyone to help her, and she was prohibited to be in the mountain. Her baby was becoming worse, and she determined to climb the mountain herself even though it is against rule. She had her baby in her shoulder and climbed the mountain. She managed to reach the house. People there astonished to see her, but gave her the medicine. It was already dark, and they recommend her to stay over the night. But she was scared for she was not supposed to be here, and eager to climb down the mountain as soon as possible. She gave the medicine to her baby, and had the baby on her shoulder again, and departed the house. Path was narrow and dark, and her baby cried. She hurried the long path. She felt as if something drew her back, she didn't know why. She felt it might be the force of the god or ghost. She hurried with leaving behind the force. She sweat a lot, and baby's drool and her sweat wetted her neck. Baby stopped to cry, and she walked. Near her house, the sun was up and she relieved to reach her house safely.She wiped her neck and looked involuntarily.Her hand became RED.And she found that her baby's head was missing.Red was the blood of her baby, and she had carried only her baby's body. The teacher told this story before 'Kimodameshi'(test game of our courage). We had to walk down the dark road of Mt. Koya one by one. Besides the road at several points, teachers were waiting to threaten us, and we knew they were watching us also for the safety, but walking moutain road alone with the image of headless baby was very very scary experience, and I can remind the story and the road we walked vividly even now.
About kimono, sometimes we come across the motifs of ghost or skull bone. Men's kimono have them comparatively often compared to women's one. If we find them in vintage kimono, the price must be very high for its raritys. Once I have seen a beautiful ghost motif yuzen kimono offered at an auction, pirce was amazingly high. Skull bones motif is called 'Nozarashi', which means ' bodies exposed('sarasu') in the field('no'). There are some folk or horror tales about Nozarashi, and it was seem to be popular motif at a term. Nozarashi was considered to be a symbol of the kind, which means the courage or preparedness. Nozarashi motif in the shoubou banten(firemen's jacket) is the very good sample of it.
Several days ago, I came across a vintage kurotomesode, which has bold Nozarashi motif. It is made of ro, summer sheer silk, and has classic 'ryozuma' ( mirror image design, which is the feature of kimono from pre WWII) pattern. It must be old, but I coudn't imagine why the owner had skull bone motif on her kurotomesode. As you know, kurotomesode is the most formal kimono for married women. If she wore it at wedding, how other attendants felt to see it? Why did she want skull bone at auspicious events? We still don't have the answer of it.
My mother says she often looks ghosts when she is in futon(bed). Seeing ghost is not special thing for her, and we hear some people say they see ghost often. Is it special situation in Japan? Or, all over the world are there some percentage of people who can see ghost usually?
I am in a office alone, and little bit become scared to remind some horror stories! I will go home now!
**We are listing some charming kasuri, katazome, Nagoya obi and fabrics in about 6 hours.We hope you enjoy cheking our new arrivals.Domo arigato gozaimasu
Ichiro & Yuka WadaKimono Flea Market "ICHIROYA"http://www.ichiroya.com
e-mail: info@ichiroya.comaddress: Asia-shoji Bldg.301 1841-1 Nishi 1 chome Wakamatsu cho Tondabayashi city Osaka 584-0025 JAPANTEL&FAX ****( international number ) - 81-721-23-5446