Yesterday, I attended the most beautiful, most fun, wedding ever. The bride and her brother were my English students when I lived in Hokkaido. The last time I saw her was a year ago, when she visited me and we went out to lunch. I was honored when she invited me to her wedding and asked me to make a speech during the reception.
The event began with a church service wedding ceremony. It seemed very much like Christian services I attended in the US, with a minister, and an organ playing What a Friend We Have in Jesus, and 1 Corinthians 13.
After that we moved from the chapel to the reception.
After everyone was seated, the bride and groom made their entrance. The bride looks like a princess!
There was a toast and a couple of speeches. I gave mine in English, and one of the bride’s friends (who is a real translator), translated it into Japanese.
The happy couple cut a piece of cake.
The groom fed the bride a dainty bite of cake, followed by the bride using a large spoon to feed her husband a large piece of cake!
The meal was wonderful! The staff made some meatless substitutions for me and were so kind and polite.
The bride’s grandmother was interviewed and she was so cute!
I was seated at the table in the middle front, with the interpreter and her husband, two of the bride’s friends, and the meteorologist. I’m not sure, but he may have been one of her professors. This is the bride’s guests side of the room.
This is the groom’s side.
This is the bride’s brother, who is finished with university and in the working world. I was very happy to see him again.
The bride and groom and some of the groom’s friends.
Midway through the Japanese wedding reception, the bride changes dresses.
More interviews of the happy couple.
One of the bride’s friends is an opera singer.The bride played the piano and the friend sang.
The bride and groom with their parents.
My table mates.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye.
Beginning March 24th, Japan will begin issuing a new passport design featuring a plastic photo page with an imbedded chip to prevent forgery. The plastic page features a cherry blossom pattern that is visible when the page is tilted, in addition to a crane watermark, according to the Foreign Ministry. The new passports are expected to take about two weeks to be issued, which is longer than the current passport time frame, which is one week and are printed at municipal government offices (city hall). The new design will be produced by the National Printing Bureau, where the country’s banknotes are made.
I read online that the cost of a 10 year Japanese adult passport is ¥16,000. I don’t know if that cost will go up with the new passports. A 10 year American adult passport costs US$130.
I made some little felt things with pin backings to send with letters.
Sometimes I think back on things I've done or made in the past. Today I will write about the things I posted in years past on February 6th. (You can read the post by clicking on the year link).
2024 Last year I wrote about the 26 year old Ukranian born Japanese woman who was crowned Miss Japan. There was some controversy about whether she was really "Japanese". (A few days later she gave up her crown, but that was another post.)
2023 This was a Monday, and I wrote about a new hexagon project. These later became a chair cushion.
2022 This post was about some things I saw on my visit to Tottori Prefecture.
2021 This was a People's Choice link up post, with the topic "Birds I have stitched".
2020 I posted about the framed quilts I saw at the 2020 Tokyo International Quilt Festival. (This was the last Tokyo International Quilt Festival event, just before the pandemic hit).
2019 This was a "Finish It in 2019" post. Seems a familiar theme. I am always working to finish what I start.
2018 I attended the piano recital of my friend's daughter.
2017 Nadine sent me a wonderful gift from Belgium. (She last posted to her blog in 2020, but you can still check out previous posts).
2016 This post was a link up post to the Alphabet Club and was the letter G that month. My word was Gakubuchi, meaning picture frame. I posted some of my stitched pieces that are framed.
2015 This was a post about Setsubun.
2014 I posted about a Japanese Art Exhibit at North Carolina State University.
2013 On this date, I posted about a Work In Progress, that was almost finished.
2012 Finally, this was an after vacation post about the top five favorite places of the trip.
My time living in Japan has been so wonderful. I'm glad I document what I do - big and small, on this blog. It's good to look back and remember from time to time.
Japanese Pattern 31
Summertime Fuji progress
Mill Hill Frosty progress
I’ve started hand quilting along the vertical seams of the Year 3 temperature quilt. I have all of the vertical seams along the blocks quilted.
I think this quilt will get finished before the end of the year.
Although not a national holiday, Setsubun is widely celebrated in Japan. Depending on the Japanese Lunar Calendar, Setsubun falls on February 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. This year, it falls on the 2nd. The name means the Eve of the Beginning of Spring. I lived in Hokkaido when I first heard about Setsubun, and I thought this was a crazy name for something at the beginning of February. See this post.
Typically, (especially in homes with children) someone dresses up like the oni (demon), or wears a paper mask like the one in the picture above. Others throw roasted beans at the demon, while chanting, Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! (Demons out! Good fortune in!) People also eat the number of beans that corresponds with the person’s age. This is not so difficult if you are ten years old, but when you are my age, well, that is a lot of beans.
Another tradition on Setsubun is to eat eho-maki, a long sushi roll with a variety of fillings. Some people make their own, but grocery and convenience stores sell them, if you are not inclined to make your own. For good luck, you need to eat the whole thing in silence, facing the direction of the year. The lucky direction for 2025 is west-southwest.
Best of luck to you this year!
The forecast changes several times leading up to the flowers opening to make sure everyone knows the peak cherry blossom times all over Japan. It’s so much more than just pretty flowers. Celebrating Ohanami is as old as Japan.
It looks like my area is in the March 25th section.
