Book Scan: Nursery Rhymes

About 10 years ago, I found a couple of old Japanese children's books at my local thrift store. The art in the books are sooo cute, I couldn't resist the black marble eyes of the little girls in the drawings. These books originally came with LP records to sing along to, but none came with my used. I don't know how old the books are, and they are rare to find pictures from the series on the internet, so I figured I just had to share.

This one is book #41 of the series (I don't know how many there are, the back of the book only lists up to book #40). This one is a collection of Japanese children's songs. I will include translations and romanization of the lyrics, and links to the songs, for those who would like to learn the songs. Please click on the images to make them larger.

Audio Picture Book
Golden Sheet 41
Bright Country, LP 33 1/3 rpm
Children's Songs - part 1

This page contains instructions for moms on singing with children and on how to use the vocal sheets that weren't included when I bought the books.

Ame / Rain

Ame ga furimasu, ame ga furu
Asobi ni yukitashi, kasa wa nashi
Beni o no kakko mo, o ga kireta

Ame ga furimasu, ame ga furu
Iya demo ouchi de, asobimashou
Chiyogami orimashou, tatamimashou


It's raining, it's raining
I want to play but don't have my parasol
The strap broke on my crimson geta (clogs, "kakko")

It's raining, it's raining
I don't want to, but let's play inside
Let's fold chiyogami, let's fold


This Youtube video has more lyrics than the children's book has, the uploader has included romaji lyrics in the video description.

Juu-nin no Indian / 10 Little Indians

This one is the American children's song, 10 Little Indians, in Japanese! (note: the Japanese version doesn't include "little" in the lyrics, it translates to simply "there are 1, 2, 3 of them")

Hitori, futari, san-nin iru yo
Yo-nin, go-nin, roku-nin iru yo
Shichi-ni, hachi-nin, ku-nin iru yo
Juu-nin no indian booizu

Juu-nin, ku-nin, hachi-nin iru yo
Shichi-nin, roku-nin, go-nin iru yo
Yo-nin, san-nin, futari iru yo
Hitori no indian booi


One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys

Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians
Seven little, six little, five little Indians
Four little, three little, two little Indians
One little Indian boy

Here is the audio, sing along!

Ningyou / Doll

Watashi no ningyou wa, yoi ningyou
Me wa pacchiri to, irojiro de
Chiisai kuchi moto, airashii
Watashi no ningyou wa, yoi ningyou

Watashi no ningyou wa, yoi ningyou
Uta o utaeba, nen'neshite
Hitori de oitemo, nakimasen
Watashi no ningyou wa, yoi ningyou


My doll is a good doll
Her eyes are big and beautiful, and has fair-complexion
Her small mouth is lovely
My doll is a good doll

My doll is a good doll
When I sing a song, she goes beddy-bye
She doesn't cry if left alone
My doll is a good doll

Here is a video with the song, and a dance performed by two very cute little girls!

人形 from alte Jungfer on Vimeo.

Katatsumuri / Snail

Den den mushi mushi, katatsumuri
Omae no atama wa, doko ni aru
Tsuno dase yari dase, atama dase

Den den mushi mushi, katatsumuri
Omae no medama wa, doko ni aru
Tsuno dase yari dase, medama dase


Snail, snail
Where is your head?
Stick out your horns, stick out your antenna, stick out your head

Snail, snail
Where are your eyeballs?
Stick out your horns, stick out your antenna, stick out your eyeballs

(note: dendenmushi, and katatsumuri both mean snail)

Omacha no maachi / March of the Toys

Yattoko yattoko, kuridashita
Omocha no maachi ga, ra'ta'ta'
Ningyou no heitai, seizoroi
O-uma mo ko-inu mo, ra'ta'ta'

Yattoko yattoko, hitomawari
Kyuupi mo Poppo mo, ra'ta'ta'
Furansu ningyou mo, tobidashite
Fuefukya taiko ga, pan para pan


Yo-ho! Yo-ho! Here they come
The march of the toys go rat-a-tat-tat
Soldier dolls all lined up
The horses and puppies go rat-a-tat-tat

Yo-ho! Yo-ho! Going around
Kewpie and toy trains go rat-a-tat-tat
Even the French doll joins in
The flutes and drummers go pan para pan

Here is the song, although the video has nothing to do with marching toys... They also use "wanwa" for the word puppy instead of "koinu". This song is fun, I sing it to my son!

WWII Momotarou Kimono

I figured this boy's kimono would be good to display for Kodomo no Hi (Tango no Sekku). Unfortunately it is old and the fabric of the front right panel is disintegrating. But the design is still handsome!
The motifs of this kimono are samurai items.

This is a saihai, an item that samurai use to signal troops.

A gunbai uchiwa, war fan, also for signalling troops. The gunbai says Nippon Ichi Momotarou (Japan's best, Momotarou). Momotarou is a folk story, translated to "Peach Boy" in English. Momotarou dolls are often displayed on Tango no Sekku (Kodomo no Hi). Momotarou was especially popular during WWII. I want to say this kimono is probably from the WWII era.

A motif of Kabuto, samurai helmet, also makes me think of Kodomo no Hi (Tango no Sekku)

A fan with Hinomaru design, and an arrow.

I am not entirely sure on this motif. It appears to be a sign post that says 金礼 (kin-rei?). I can't find any translation for this, so my best guess is golden gift? I'm not entirely sure.

Here you can see the damage of the disintegrating fabric. Most of the kimono is fine, but this part is brittle and the fabric snaps apart like ancient parchment.

Boy's obi and Papercraft!

Last night I finally purchased a boy's heko obi to go with my son's yukata. I knew it was one staple item that is rather hard to get at a reasonable price. Everytime I watch one on ebay the price goes out of my range. I'm such a penny-pincher... I found this one on Rakuten and it was affordable.
I chose the option C, with the steel colored flower. I figured it was more versatile. Its been a long time since I purchased something online, but I feel confident since the reviews for this heko obi is 5 stars.

I decided I am going to try and celebrate Kodomo no Hi with my son. I looked around and found some Children's Day events in my area in May. In previous years the Kodomo no Hi events were not actually held on May 5th, but sometime in May.

I've started crafting some decorations for Kodomo no Hi. I have one Koinobori that I was given, but I am not going to try and make the complete set like I said in a previous post, I just won't have the time or energy, and I can't display it outside at my apartments. So I hung that single Koinobori in my son's room, and I made a koinobori toy out of paper.
It was my first time doing papercraft. You can find the printouts and instructions for this one here. Japanese only, but the illustrations are fairly straight forward. I just printed it off at home on my old, crumby printer using plain paper, since I was just practicing. My printer ran out of colored ink, so I ended up having to color in everything with color pencil. As I was assembling, the black ink on the pole smeared some, so it looks dingy. I used a wooden dowel and rolled up pieces of paper to support the inside of the pole. Any other papercrafts that I do, I will probably have them professionally printed on heavy paper.
I think it's cute! On Kodomo no Hi, I will probably give this one to my son to wave around in the wind, and probably have fun destroying it!

I hope to make some other toys out of paper, such as a windmill, paper airplanes, tops, maybe a kite and a den den daiko, and of course an origami kabuto (samurai helmet)! As far as papercrafts, I'm looking forward to trying to make a samurai helmet decoration.

If I had heard about papercrafts earlier, I would have made a paper hina matsuri set. Oh well, there is always next year!

Thoughts of Summer

I really should be thinking about Spring, and the Cherry Blossom festival. I find it unfortunate that almost no information gets posted online about the Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival. It's hard to figure out what you want to go see and do at the festival if you don't have any idea of what the event schedule is like. I mentioned it on IG forums, but it seems none of the festival goers wear kimono at the Seattle Cherry Blossom festival. I never see any, anyways, except for some of the performers. Anyone that does dress up usually wears yukata, even though it isn't summer yet. It isn't particularly warm in Seattle, but it is still comfortable to wear yukata since you are walking a lot, so my family will probably wear yukata this year.

There are many things to look forward to from now until the Fall. Cherry Blossom festival, Kodomo no Hi, Tanabata, Obon, and Aki Matsuri. I have only ever been to the Cherry Blossom Festival, so I am looking forward to trying to go to the other festivals. There is also Moon Viewing event, but I don't know if we will try and go to it since it is rather late to be out for my son.

Today I decided to see if any of my yukata items fit my son. I made for him a jinbei last year, but we ended not going to any events and he never wore it. I tried it on him today and it still fit him, except the shirt is a bit short. I don't think it will fit him when it is time for the festivals, so I suppose he will just wear it around the house until I can make or buy a new one.
Toddlers are hard to take pictures of, he is always moving! Don't mind mommy in the background in her pajamas!
The fabric is just quilting cotton. I lined up the pattern on the back so that the full dragon showed.

I tried a yukata on my son also. He had a great time playing with the sleeves! This yukata is sized for a 3-4 year old, my son is only 21 months and short for his age, so I am happy that I will only have to shorten it a little bit! Hopefully I can find a reasonably priced heko obi soon. I also have some fabric to make a dinosaur yukata for him!

Kimono Sale, Seattle

I just found out about this from the Japanese classifieds ads. There will be a used kimono sale in Seattle. "...Guaranteed to be high quality and like new, free of wear and stains." Price ranges are between $50-200, cash or check with ID, no cards. Please do not wear shoes on the mat. All proceeds will be donated to the Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival. First come, first serve. It looks like there will be about 30 kimono. Items listed are: kurotomesode, irotomesode, houmongi, iromuji, tsukesage, komon, tsumugi, wool, hitoe, awase, gauze, haori, michiyuki, coat, fukuro obi, nagoya obi, maru obi, hanhaba obi, komono, etc.

March 7, 2012 (Wednesday)
5-9pm
Seattle Dojo
1510 South Washington Street
Seattle, WA 98744

I will not likely be going (cry!) as funds are tight. But if anyone else does go, please share your wins and the experience!

Seattle Kimono de Jack Newspaper articles

The North American Post (Seattle Japanese-American newspaper) features two articles on the Kimono Jack and Celebrate Asia concert! The Japanese and English versions are different, so I've included both of them. My Japanese is rusty, and newspaper vocabulary is very new to me, so I did my best at translating.

English version (flickr link)
I included the link to flickr since blog images are too small to read, but here is the text:

(Caption: Kimono wearing participants bring color to the annual Celebrate Asia concert last Friday)

Over 30 kimono wearing attendees added Japanese grace to the full-housed Celebrate Asia concert last Friday at Benaroya Hall featuring the local Asian communities and cultures. From the local Nikkei (Japanese American) community, Okinawa Kenjin Kai Taiko group performed in a pre-concert show. Japanese Community Queen Frederica Mackert also welcomed guests with other Asian community queens.

While the organizer found only three attendees wearing kimonos last year, the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington organized a "Kimono Jack" event encouraging the community to appreciate the beauty of Japanese kimono at the concert. A few dozen kimono fans including Amanda Sarnoski (that would be me!) and Shannon Barnes joined the group seating in the same section during the concert that Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, Violinist Hahn-Bin and other renowned musicians performed.


Japanese version (flickr link)
(Caption: Japanese staff that participated in kimono at the "Asian Night" concert) Note: I am not Japanese, nor part of the staff or committee.

“Asian Night” Concert
The Nikkei community color the Asian community celebration with kimono.

The Celebrate Asia concert on the 24th at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle, which featured the Seattle area's Asian community and culture, was a great success, drawing a packed house. In this 4th annual performance, The Japan America Society of Washington State called for a gathering of attendees to participate in a "Kimono Jack" reception to share the "beauty of Japan".

Every year there are many among the audience that wear various native dress, however last year there were only 3 participants who wore kimono. This year about 30 people answered the call for the "Kimono Jack", and had a reception for dressing adjustments before the start of the concert.

One participant I spoke to that loves kimono, Amanda Sarnoski, says that she has 200 kimono in her collection. Ever since she wore kimono the first time in her high school Japanese class, she became enchanted by the delicately patterned and colorful Japanese sense of beauty. Her companion, an American high school student, buys kimono on the internet, and has also made her own kimono.

At the reception, the Seattle Japanese Queen, Frederica Mackert, welcomed guests together with the Queens of the Asian community. In the lobby, musical performances entertained the audience, beginning with Washington State’s Okinawa Kenjin-Kai, followed by Indian music and Indonesian dance, and the Chinese Lion Dance.

The host for the concert was KING 5’s Mimi Jung. The Seattle Symphony played together with Asian musicians under the direction of Taiwanese-American Mei-Ann Chen. Jie Ma played wonderful traditional music on a Chinese pipa lute, and Vietnamese-American Cuong Vu group’s modern trumpet music concluded the first half of the concert.

The second half of the concert, the height of the show featured Korean-American violinist HAHN-BIN whose high-spirited skill and unique performance received a standing ovation. After the performance, the sounds of One World Taiko energetic performance echoed as the audience returned to the lobby.

Hina Matsuri, and Papercrafts

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Hina Matsuri! I was going to put together an overly girlish Taisho kimono ensemble, but I've been so busy with other things. Other than displaying an Ichimatsu doll and looking at the Hina display at the grocery store Uwajimaya, I didn't do anything special. My baby boy had fun, he had a tea party with the dolly!
Even though I don't have a daughter, I feel like I want to do some small Hina Matsuri decoration. I found numerous free papercraft projects online, for holidays like Kodomo no Hi, and Setsubun. Rather than try and buy an expensive Hina set, why not make one out of paper?
Look how cute it is!!

(sorcue)

I have a folder full of paper projects for the upcoming Kodomo no Hi. Time permitting, I hope to make a bunch of decorations and toys for my baby boy!

Here is another stunning papercraft at this site I know kimono lovers would appreciate. Check out this beautiful box of Shichi-go-san accessories - made completely out of paper!!!

(source)

I highly recommend checking out the Canon Creative Park website. There are so many papercrafts that you can download and print, and they are all free. And very impressive and highly detailed!
http://cp.c-ij.com/en/index.html
Yamaha (motorbikes) also has a small number of free papercrafts. Here is there hina matsuri craft: http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/entertainment/papercraft/seasons/03/
If anyone else knows where to find more Japanese cultural themed papercrafts, please let me know! I may become an addict!