Japan | Mama Lisa's World Blog

Archive for the 'Japan' Category

Posts

Japanese Hand Clapping Playground Game

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Here’s a Japanese hand clapping game about making rice cakes. Cool motions!

If anyone would like to send me the Japanese lyrics and/or an English translation, I’d love to add them here. You can add a transliteration or translation in the comments below or email me the Japanese text at lisa@mamalisa.com .

Meanwhile, you can enjoy watching and listening… they repeat it so you can try to learn it by ear.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Hand Clapping Rhymes, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Kids Songs, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, YouTube | No Comments »

Poem: A Landscape

Monday, August 24th, 2009

A Landscape

Land, green-brown;
Sea, brown-grey;
Island, dull peacock blue;
Sky, stone-grey.

I like the imagery of this poem. What’s interesting is that the sea is brown-grey and the island is blue.

“A Landscape” was originally Japanese. If anyone can send in the original, I’d love to add it here. Please email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Countries & Cultures, Japan, Japanese Poems, Landscape, Mama Lisa, Poetry | No Comments »

About The Japanese Star Festival – Tanabata – with a Song and YouTube Video

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

One wonderful festival that takes place in Japan in July is the Star Festival, also known as Tanabata. Tanabata means “evening of the seventh”… the Star Festival takes place at night on July 7th every year. Tanabata is originally based on a Chinese legend.

Tanabata celebrates the meeting of a husband and wife. They are Orihime (the star Vega) and Hikoboshi (the star Altair)… to meet they must cross the river Amanogawa (the Milky Way). They can only meet once a year on this night… it’s the one time they can cross the river. The story is that a flock of magpies help Orihime cross the river on this day only. If it’s a cloudy night, that means the river was too high and Orihame and Hikoboshi couldn’t meet. So in Japan everyone wishes for a clear night full of stars on July 7th.

Ayako Egawa in Japan wrote to me about one fun tradition on this day: “Children write their wishes on strips of fancy paper and put them on displays made of the branches of bamboo trees.”

Ayako sent me this photo below with the note, “This is the decoration at Star festival (Tanabata) on July 7th.”

Photo of a Bambo Tree for the Star Festival Tanabata in Japan

Here’s a traditional Tanabata Song that’s sung for the festival. First you’ll find a Japanese transliteration, then the Japanese text, an English translation by me, followed by a YouTube video of a little girl singing it…

Sasa no ha sara-sara

In Japanese Romaji:

Sasa no ha sara-sara
Nokiba ni yureru
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira
Kingin sunago

In Japanese Text:

笹の葉　さらさら
軒端にゆれる
お星様　キラキラ
金銀砂子

English Translation:

Bamboo leaves are rustling, rustling,
Swaying close to the roof’s edge,
Oh, how the stars are twinkling, twinkling,
Gold and silver grains of sand.

If you’d like to share any photos, songs or memories of this festival, feel free to in the comments below or email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .

Many thanks to Ayako Egawa for letting us know about this festival and for sharing the wonderful photo!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Customs, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Kids Songs, Languages, Mama Lisa, Sasa no ha sara-sara, Star Festival, Star Festival Songs, Tanabata, YouTube | 1 Comment »

Japanese Lullabies called Nenneko Yo with a YouTube Video

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Illustration of Japanese Mother and Children

There are some lullabies in Japan that start with variations of the line, “Nenneko yo”. “Nenneko yo” is literally “Sleep, baby child”.

Here are some I found in an old book called “A Japanese Miscellany: Strange Stories, Folklore Gleanings, Studies Here & There” by Lafcadio Hearn (1901). They’re Japanese transliterations with translations.

Nenneko, nenneko,
Nenneko yo !
Oraga akabo no
Neta rusu ni,
Azuki wo yonagete,
Kome toide,
Aka no mamma e
Toto soete,
Aka no ii-ko ni
Kureru-zo !

Sleep, sleep, sleep,
Little one!
While my baby sleeps
I will wash some red beans
And clean some rice;
Then adding some
Fish to the red rice,
I will serve it up
To this best
of little babies.

*****

Nenneko! nenneko!
Nenneko yo !
Oraga akabo wa
Itsu dekita ?
San-gwatsu, sakura no
Saku toki ni :
Dori de o-kao ga
Sakura-iro.

Sleep, sleep,
Sleep, my child!
When was my
Baby made?
In the third month,
In the time of the blooming
Of cherry-flowers.
Therefore the color of the honorable
Face of my child is the color of the cherry-blossom.

*****

Nenneko, nenneko, nenneko ya !
Netara o-kaka e tsurete ina !
Okitara gagama* ga totte kama !

Sleep, sleep, sleep, my child !
If you sleep I will go home to fetch your mother!
If you stay awake the
Gagama* will catch and bite you !

* An Izumo name for some kind of Goblin.

Here’s a YouTube I found of someone singing a lovely Nenneko yo lullaby…

Here’s an English transliteration of the YouTube lullaby:

Yurika go no uta o

Nenneko, nenneko,
Nenneko yo.
Yurika go no uta o,
kanari ya ga uta u yo.
Nenneko, nenneko,
Nenneko yo.

Here’s an English translation I made with Ayako Egawa:

The Songs of Cradle

Sleeping, sleeping,
Sleeping, baby!
The songs of the cradle,
The canary sings
Sleeping, sleeping,
Sleeping, baby!

Here’s the Japanese text to this lullaby:

ゆりかごのうたを

ねんねこねんねこ
ねんねこよ
ゆりかごのうたを
カナリヤが歌うよ
ねんねこねんねこ
ねんねこよ

The lullaby in the video is only part of a longer song. We hope to eventually post the whole lullaby.

We’d be happy to receive the Japanese text to any of the above lullabies that don’t have it. You can email any info to me at lisa@mamalisa.com . Thanks in advance!

Many thanks to Linda Austin from Cherry Blossom Memories for providing the transliteration to the YouTube video! Thanks to Ayako Egawa for the Japanese text and for helping with the English translation!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Holidays Around the World, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Kids Songs, Japanese Lullabies, Languages, Lullabies, Mama Lisa, Nenne ko yo | 1 Comment »

Miso Soup Traditions

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

I recently posted a recipe for miso soup that Ayako Egawa from Japan helped me with. When she saw the photo of the bowls and spoons I used to serve it with, she made this comment: "It is interesting you use a spoon for Miso soup, because we use chopsticks for it. And we usually put it in a deep bowl. But of course it is all right! It looks yummy!"

Ayako said (regarding the photo above): "This is my Miso soup bowl. Most Miso soup bowls have beautiful pictures and they have covers."

I said to Ayako: "That’s interesting that you eat miso soup with chopsticks. Do you drink the broth at the end? Here, in restaurants, we use big, deep spoons to eat it."

Ayako replied: "We drink the broth at the end by putting our mouths on the bowl. In Japan, it’s not against good manners to do that, especially when eating Japanese food such as Miso soup, Udon or Soba. We drink western soup with spoons. In some restaurants, Miso soup may taste better than ours at home. But the important point is that each family has its own tastes. Generally people in northern areas prefer red miso and ones in western areas, especially Kyoto areas prefer white miso. But it depends on each family. It’s interesting"

Thanks for sharing that with us Ayako! Very interesting!

Mama Lisa

Hat tip: Thanks also to Linda Austin of Cherry Blossom Memories for sharing her Miso traditions too. Linda’s Mom is from Japan. She wrote, "My mom insists on using red miso, someday I’ll try white."

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Cooking, Countries & Cultures, Cuisine, Customs, Domestic Life, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Cuisine, Languages, Miso Soup, Recipes of the World, Soup, USA | 4 Comments »

Recipe for Miso Soup

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Miso Soup is pretty quick and easy to make! I made it for the first time this past weekend. My whole family liked it, though my 7 year old daughter only ate the broth with rice (no seaweed!).

The one possibly tough part of making miso soup is finding the ingredients. I got mine at a Japanese specialty food store in a nearby town. The owner also gave me tips about making the soup! So it was an interesting trip. If you don’t have a store like this nearby, you can get the ingredients on the internet.

I made a large pot. So I’ll give you the quantities I used for the recipe. Then I’ll tell you how much you need to make a small quantity and you can double it or triple it or whatever you want. It’s good to learn how to adapt recipes to your own needs.

Here are the quantities I used to make a large pot of soup:

20 cups of water
5 cups of Dried Bonito Flakes (mackerel)
1 1/2 cups White Miso Paste
1/4 to 1/3 cup Dried Chopped Seaweed
1 to 3 bunches Thinly Sliced Scallions
1 (4 to 8 oz) package Cleaned White Mushrooms, Thinly Sliced (If desired)
1 to 2 (14 ounce) Packages Firm Tofu, Cubed
Salt to taste (you can also use a little sea salt if desired)

First you make the Dashi which is the the broth for the soup. Ayako Egawa from Japan gave me instructions for making this. The rule of thumb is to use 2 cups of water to 1/2 cup dried bonito flakes (pictured below).

1. Here’s how you make the Dashi Broth:

Boil the water. Turn off the flame. Put dried bonito into the water and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then you want to take out the bonito. You can do this by straining the broth through a colander and into another pot. I did the straining twice to get rid of all the bonito. Then you discard the bonito. The broth that’s left is the Dashi.*

2. Put the broth in the pot back on the stovetop and warm it up on a medium to medium-high flame. But do not boil it – especially after the miso has been added. Many people believe boiling miso ruins its beneficial health effects.

3. Add the miso paste (the rule of thumb is 1 Tablespoon of miso paste per 1 cup of water.) Stir in the miso paste to dissolve. Add the other ingredients (feel free to leave out any if you don’t like them). Note: I used the seaweed in the photo below – a little goes a long way! I originally put in 1/2 cup and you can see how much is in the bowl at the bottom. That’s why I changed the amount in the recipe to 1/4 to 1/3 cup. (I think a rule of thumb would be about 1 teaspoon dried seaweed per 1 – 2 cups of water. I would start with less, you can always add more!)

You can adjust the amounts of the mushrooms, tofu, scallions and seaweed used to suit your family’s taste. (Some people even put in carrots, buckwheat noodles and even a little sesame oil and soy sauce.) We wanted a lot of scallions – and I think it added flavor to the broth. Whatever you choose, simply warm up the final ingredients, add salt to taste, and voila, it’s ready to eat!

*FYI Ayako and the man in the Japanese food store both pointed out that you can alternatively make the Dashi (broth) by using Dashi powder – but the versions of Dashi powder that I found had MSG in it. That’s why I made it with the Dried Bonito Flakes instead. The man in the store insisted that restaurants use the powder, making me wonder if we’re eating MSG when we have miso soup in some restaurants. I guess that’s all the more reason to learn to make it yourself! This way you know exactly what’s in it!

Many thanks to Ayako Egawa for teaching me how to make dashi!

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

PS Here’s "The Miso Soup Song" – a Korean Folk Song

UPDATE: Check out this later post to learn about some Miso Soup Traditions!

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Countries & Cultures, Cuisine, Dashi, Japan, Japanese Cuisine, Miso Soup, Recipes of the World, Soup | 6 Comments »

Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

When the Cherry Blossoms bloom in Japan it’s traditional to go to the park to view the blossoms and have a picnic. Cherry Blossom viewing is called called Hanami. Ayako Egawa generously shared her photos of this years cherry blossom viewing.

Ayako wrote, "We walked under the flow of cherry blossoms in the park. It was beautiful!"

Close up of the cherry blossoms.

Ayako continued, "Lots of people enjoy sitting and eating ‘bento’ (their lunch)."

Ayako wrote, "We hiked along the road hearing the twitter of Japanese Bush Warbler.
I like the feel of spring!"

I asked Ayako what the Japanese Bush Warbler sounds like and she wrote, "Hearing the twitter of the Japanese Bush Warbler is a sign of Spring in Japan. They sing like ‘Whoo Who ket kyo’! It’s a unique twitter." Later Ayako sent me this YouTube video below she found to hear the bird’s tweet.

Ayako wrote, "Small purple flowers in the park. They are pretty."

Ayako wrote, "Cherry blossoms in this school playground are really beautiful! It’s common that there are lots of cherry blossoms in school playgrounds in Japan."

Thanks so much for sharing these great photos with us Ayako!

Check out these posts for more about Cherry Blossom Viewing and Festivals.

•Cherry Blossom Parties in Japan and a Japanese Folk Song called "Hana" ("Sakura")

•"Sakura, Sakura" another Japanese Cherry Blossom Song

•Cherry Blossom Festivals Around the World

•Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

•Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan

You can also hear 2 well known Cherry Blossom Songs on Mama Lisa’s World:

Sakura – Cherry Blossoms

Sakura Sakura – Cherry Blossoms (Song #2)

Enjoy the season and try to see Cherry Blossoms blooming near you if possible. It’s worth the effort.

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Countries & Cultures, Folk Songs, Hanami - Cherry Blossom Viewing, Hanami - Cherry Blossom or Sakura Songs, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Japan, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Folk Songs, Japanese Kids Songs, Languages, Photos, Photos, Photos of People, Photos of Places, Sakura, Sakura - Cherry Blossoms, Seasonal, Spring, Traveling, YouTube | 1 Comment »

Taiyaki – A Japanese Sweet

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

I think it’s interesting to learn about different foods eaten around the world. Here’s one that’s eaten in Japan. Ayako Egawa shared this photo with me, with the note:

This is a fish shaped sweet called “Taiyaki”. It’s a popular sweet in Japan. Usually Azuki (red bean) paste is stuffed inside it. But this one has custard cream inside of it. It’s yummy!

Thanks for sharing that with us Ayako!

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Countries & Cultures, Cuisine, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Cuisine, Languages, Recipes of the World, Taiyaki | 1 Comment »

Bunny Bento

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Check out this post for making bunny bento. What’s bento? A Japanese lunchbox!

You can buy Japanese Bento Boxes at:

Asian Art Mall

Ayako Egawa wrote from Japan: “Hi Lisa, bunny bento, which is the cutting style of an apple, is very popular in Japan in lunchboxes!”

A couple of days later, Ayako wrote to me: “Hi Lisa, those are my bunnies! (See photo below.) I put them in my lunchbox today.”

Thanks for sharing that with us Ayako!

-Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Bunny Bento, Countries & Cultures, Cuisine, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Cuisine, Languages, Recipes of the World | No Comments »

Fun Sweet “Sushi” to Make for Kids

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Fun Sushi to Make for Kids

Yuta, Yoji and Miki made this awesome “sushi” for a school birthday party. It’s made out of homemade rice crispy treats, gummy fish and fruit roll-ups. How cute and cool!

The one question everyone’s asking is: How did they get the rice crispy treats to be soooo pure white? Any ideas? If so, please let us know in the comments below! (I also wonder where you get the faux lacquer boxes?)

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Canada, Cooking with Kids, Countries & Cultures, Cuisine, Desserts, Food Sculptures, Japan, Japanese Cuisine, Kids Sushi, Mama Lisa, Miscellaneous, Parenting, Questions, Recipes of the World, Sushi, USA | 6 Comments »

Hina Matsuri – Doll Festival in Japan

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Hina Matsuri or “Doll Festival”, is celebrated in Japan on March 3rd every year.

Ayako Egawa wrote to me from Japan about the holiday:

“Families with daughters celebrate March 3 by displaying Hina-dolls on a stepped shelf to express the wish for their daughters’ good health and growth. I posted a photo of ‘Hina-dolls’ (below). They are pretty.”

“We decorate Hina-dolls with flowers of peach and field mascard (canola) on ‘Hina Matsuri’. These below are flowers of peach.” The peach blossoms are thought to repel evil.

Ayako makes flower arrangements. She wrote, “This is a ‘Hinamatsuri’ arrangement I made. It has in it flowers of peach, field mustard (canola – the small yellow flower), gerbera, roses, persion buttercup (the big yellow flower) and lemon leaf. The point of this arrangement is arrange the flowers of peach vertically going higher. The pink tone of the flowers create an elegant mood.”

Here’s the Hina Matsuri Song that’s sung all over Japan for the holiday. You can hear it being sung below by Sakura and Hatsami. The recording is followed by the transliterated lyrics, an English translation and the Japanese text…

MP3 of the Hina Matsuri Song

Hina Matsuri Song

Transliterated Japanese

Akari o tsukema sho bon bori ni
O hana o agemasyo momo no hana
Gonin – bayashi no fue daiko
Kyoo wa tanoshii Hina Matsuri

Loose English Translation

Let’s light the lanterns on the tiered stand
Let’s put peach blossoms on the tiered stand
Five court musicians are playing flutes and drums
Today is a Happy Dolls’ Festival.

Japanese Text for the Hina Matsuri Song

うれしいひなまつり

You can read more about Hina Matsuri in a previous posts I’ve written about it by clicking on the links below.

•Hina Matsuri - Doll Festival in Japan

•Hina Matsuri 雛祭り - The Doll Festival in Japan - Has its Roots in an Old Chinese Purification Ceremony

•Hina Matsuri, The Doll Festival in Japan is on March 3rd

You can visit the Mama Lisa’s World Hina Matsuri Song Page for sheet music to this song.

Many thanks Ayako Egawa for sharing her photos with us about Hinamatsuri and for commenting on them, to Sakura and Hatsami for singing the Hina Matsuri Song and to Peter Galante of Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com for allowing us to use this wonderful recording! The recording is from their podcast about the Hina Matsuri Festival (it’s mainly in English).

Happy Hina Matsuri!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, Great Britain, Hina Matsuri - Doll Festival - Girls' Day, Hina Matsuri Song, Hina Matsuri Song, Hina Nagashi Matsuri - Floating Dolls Festival, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Kids Songs, Languages, MP3 of Hina Matsuri Song, MP3's, Mama Lisa, Recordings of Songs | 2 Comments »

Photos from Kamakura, Japan

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Kamakura is 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Tokyo. Ayako Egawa wrote to me from Japan about her trip there, “I went to Kamakura where there are many famous historic Japanese sites. This is “Daibutsu” which means Great Buddha. It was cast in 1252 and its height is approximately 13.4 meters (44 feet). ‘The figure sits in dignified repose with a most placid expression of countenance.’ That’s a quote about it from Dr. C. Dresser’s Japan – Its Architecture.

It was fine day. Daibutsu made a beautiful contrast with the blue sky.”

This is the Hasedera Temple that houses a statue of Kannon the goddess of mercy.

Below is the Japanese garden at Hasedera Temple. Ayako wrote, “This is a typical Japanese garden. Typical Japanese gardens have a pond with a small bridge, a garden lantern, garden stones and old trees that show the four seasons.”

Ayako wrote, “Garden lanterns are stone lanterns for decoration in the Japanese garden, not real lanterns for practical purposes. Here’s a photo showing some Japanese stone lanterns…”

“This is ’smile Jizo’. Jizo is a stone statue of Buddha. The height is about the same as kids.”

Here’s the gate of Hasedera Temple with an old pine tree.

Ayako wrote, “This is "Kintsuba" which is a Japanese sweet I bought at Kamakura.
It is made by simmering pumpkin and sugar with small beans. The beans are Azuki, a small red bean. It is used as sweets like “Kintsuba”.”

Thanks so much for sharing your photos with us Ayako and for telling us about them! It’s all really neat to see and learn about.

-Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Countries & Cultures, Japan, Japan, Photos, Photos, Traveling | 1 Comment »

Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

We’d love it if you’d join the Mama Lisa Facebook Group. You can post anything you’d like about your culture. You can post your own musical recordings or YouTube videos… Links to culture and musical sites… Photos of your country… Questions about songs or cultural issues… Anything related to World Culture and Music…

Click on the icon below to access the group. If you have a Facebook account already, you just need to click on “Join the Group” to join. If you’re not a member, you simply have to sign up for free to become a member and then you can join the Mama Lisa Group…

Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Acadia, Amish, Andorra, Apache, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bali Tribes, Bangladesh, Basque, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Brittany, Bulgaria, Burgundy, Cajun, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Catalan, Children's Songs, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Countries & Cultures, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Customs, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Eskimo, Finland, Flanders, France, French Polynesia, Friesland, Gabrielinos, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Greece, Haiti, Hawaii, Hinduism, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Inuit, Iran, Ireland, Iroquois, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mama Lisa, Martinique, Mauritius, Maya, Mexico, Morocco, Muslim, N. Ireland, Native American Indian, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Occitan, Ojibway, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Picardy, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Questions, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sumer, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuareg, Tunisia, Turkey, USA, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wales, Wallis and Futuna, West Indies, Zaire, Zimbabwe | 1 Comment »

Let Us Know about Gifts Given for Special Occasions in Your Culture!

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

I’ve been asked… “about gift customs around the world like the one of the temari balls in Japan. Which gifts do people around the world traditionally give for special events such as marriages, births, etc.?”

FYI Temari balls are fancy balls with colorful, intricate patterns on them. They originally come from China, but are also found in Japan. They were traditionally made out of silk, often from old kimonos. Now they’re made with embroidery covering the balls.

They’re thought to bring good luck to whoever owns them. They’re given for births, birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. They’re also given by parents to kids on New Years Day.

Mama Lisa

I asked Ayako in Japan about the Temari balls. Here’s what she wrote:

“Hi Lisa,

Temari balls are beautiful. Their embroidery is fancy. We don’t play with them now. We just enjoy looking at them.

By the way, one of the traditional gifts is “Otoshidama”. It is special money given to children from their parents or relatives on New Year. It may sound dry to give money, but it is traditional heart-warming gift.

On Valentine’s day, women give chocolates to the men whom they love in Japan. It is called “true heart chocolate”. Sometimes working women give chocolates to their male coworkers. It is called “obligation chocolate”. Recently, it’s also common to give chocolate to one’s friend. That’s called “friendly chocolate”.

Usually men give gifts to the women in return on the 14th of March.

Ayako

Please join the discussion and let us know about any special gifts given for special events in your culture by commenting below…

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Arts and Crafts, Birthdays, Countries & Cultures, Customs, Embroidery, Gift Giving, Holidays Around the World, Japan, Mama Lisa, Marshmallow Day, New Years, Questions, St. Valentine's Day, Temari Balls, USA, Valentine's Day | 2 Comments »

Japanese Woman Does Western Style Flower Arrangements with Beautiful Results!

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Ayako Egawa of Japan has studied the art of Ikebana – the art of Japanese flower arranging. Recently, she’s taken up western style arrangements. Take a look at the results!

This arrangement has a lovely diagonal motion to it.

Ayako shared the theory behind the arrangement below.

“The flowers are Reeves’ meadowsweet (the white ones), sweet pea, roses and gold dust dracaena. The theme is the Japanese style “Nageire”.

The idea behind “Nageire” is to arrange the flow of each branch of Reeves’ meadowsweet well. It’s difficult to arrange them well because there’s no hook or sponge in the vase to hold them. So we cut the edge of the branch of Reeves’ meadowsweet in half and cross a twig into it. Then we can hold them in place in the vase.

This arrangement has an early spring flavor.”

Thanks for sharing these lovely photos of your arrangements with us Ayako!

-Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Arts and Crafts, Countries & Cultures, Flower Arranging, Ikebana, Japan | No Comments »

Christmas in Japan

Monday, December 15th, 2008

If you’re wondering what it’s like, click below to see!

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Christmas, Christmas Songs, Countries & Cultures, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Japan, YouTube | No Comments »

Fennel Salad Inspired by Bittman (with a side salad of – now don’t be frightened – mibuna!)

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

I mentioned in my last blog post how we belong to a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture). We get less expensive organic vegetables that come from a farm that day. We get whatever vegetables come in each week – there’s a little choice sometimes – but to a large extent – we get whatever’s in season at the time.

Last week we got, among other things, fennel and mibuna. Fennel tastes to me like licorice. I love it plain. But since I’m trying to fit these vegetables into our family meals, I’m often looking for recipes to deal with them. I was happy today to find a recipe that featured fennel by Mark Bittman in the New York Times. His recipe included celery (which I have in the house) and thinly sliced parmesan cheese (which I don’t have in the house – I only have grated parmesan).

Photo of Fennel Salad

Another complication to using Bittman’s recipe exactly as is, is that the fennel from the CSA is so good, that you don’t want to throw any part of it out.

Here’s what I did…

I cut up the fennel. After that, I happened to go over to my daughter to give her a kiss. She told me my breath smelled good. That’s because I was nibbling on the fennel. So I told her to try it. She liked it. So I put some to the side for her to eat plain – like she likes most food.

Then I added some grated parmesan (I recommend decent quality cheese for this purpose), olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper and a little fleur de sel (which you can use if you have it – it’s a very tasty salt from France). I mixed it all together and voila – it’s great!

I also had a little mibuna in the fridge. Mibuna is a green leaf in the mustard family from Japan. It’s not as strong as most mustard greens I’ve tasted – though it has a little kick to it. I put some of the same mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan, salt, pepper and fleur de sel over it to make another little salad – Yum!

Photo of Mibuna Salad

Check out Mark Bittman’s video to see how he made his salad. Yum Um!

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Countries & Cultures, Fennel Salad, Food and Nutrition, Japan, Mama Lisa, Mark Bittman, Mibuna Salad, Organic Food, Parenting, People, Recipes of the World, Salads, USA | No Comments »

Halloween in Japan and Japanese Yokai Monsters

Friday, October 31st, 2008

The Washington Post had an article today about monsters and Halloween in Japan.

Japanese people do dress up in costumes and celebrate the holiday with Halloween parties. Though they don’t go out trick-or-treating like the Americans do.

Japan’s scary monsters are called yōkai. Yōkai has come to mean demon, spirit, ghost or monster in Japanese. Yōkai are found in Japanese folklore.

The oni are one of the best known yōkai. Oni are demons which are often depicted as fighting the samurai heroes. (Interestingly, they’re also an important part of the Japanese holiday called Setsubun. It celebrates Springtime on February 3rd. The tradition is to chase out the demon oni from your house. People chase away men disguised in demon masks, by throwing roasted soybeans at them.)

Another popular yōkai is the kappa. The kappa resembles a turtle and likes to challenge humans to sumo fights! But if you’re smart, you can outwit him, and get out of the dual.

Check out The Obakemono Project online to learn more about the different yōkai monsters.

Happy Halloween!

Mama Lisa

*****
Image info:

1st image – Ōkubi by Toriyama Sekein c. 1779 (Ōkubi are Giant Heads of Men or Women that appear in the sky when a disaster is about to happen)
2nd image – Oni from the Cleveland Museum of Art
3rd image – Kappa by Toriyama Sekein in the 18th century (with a bit of editing by Mama Lisa).

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Arts and Crafts, Countries & Cultures, Customs, Folk Lore, Halloween, Holidays Around the World, Japan, Japanese, Languages, Mama Lisa, Setsubun, USA, Yokai | No Comments »

Multicultural Songs about the Seasons

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

People often write me looking for songs about the four seasons, from around the world. Here are some! The links below take you to the different pages on Mama Lisa’s World of International Childrens Songs. There, you’ll find the lyrics in the original languages, with English translations.

Songs about Winter

Yuki (Snow) – Japanese
A, a, a, der Winter, der ist da (A, a, a, Winter is Here) – German
La neige tombe (The Snow is Falling) – French from Canada
Zemestoon (Winter) – Persian from Iran
Kış (Winter) – Turkish from Turkey

Songs about Spring

La Primavera (Springtime) – Spanish from Peru
Haru Ga Kita (Spring Has Come) – Japanese
De Colores (All the Colors) – Spanish from Mexico & Spain

Songs about Summer

Trarira, der Sommer, der ist da! (Tilitum, The Summer Has Come) – German

Songs about Autumn or Fall

Couleurs d’automne (Colors of Autumn) – French

Songs or Rhymes about All Four Seasons

Joereszäiten (Seasons) – Franconian from Lorraine Region in France
Les feuilles (Leaves) – French from Canada

When you get to the song pages you can access French and Spanish translations too, and in some cases mp3 recordings, midis and/or scores.

Feel free to add a song about any of the seasons in the comments below or email me.

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, England, English, Fall, France, French, German, Germany, Great Britain, Iran, Japan, Languages, MP3's, Mama Lisa, Mexico, Midis, Recordings of Songs, Seasonal, Songs about Autumn, Songs about Spring, Songs about the Seasons, Songs by Theme, Spain, Spanish, Spring, Summer, Turkey, USA, Winter | 3 Comments »

Can Anyone Help with a Japanese Song about Raccoons or Badgers called “Shojoji”?

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

Raquel wrote to me:

Hi,

I LOVE your website! Charming, charming and so fun!
I was looking for a Japanese song about how raccoons or badgers make a drum sound on their tummies.

It was on an Ann Leif Barlin record many years ago.

It goes like this (I hope):

Sho, sho sho joji
sho joji naee wawa
tzum, tzum tzum kei o na
me nodeta koi koi koi

That’s some of it as I recall.

If you can find it that would be great!
Thanks!

RAquel Ary-DE ROZZA

If anyone can help with this song, please comment below or email me.

Thanks in advance!

Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Japan, Japanese, Japanese Kids Songs, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions | 15 Comments »

Blog Home

This is the Japan Archive Page

Categories

My Tweets

Archive for the 'Japan' Category

Contents

Posts

Japanese Hand Clapping Playground Game

Poem: A Landscape

About The Japanese Star Festival – Tanabata – with a Song and YouTube Video

Japanese Lullabies called Nenneko Yo with a YouTube Video

Miso Soup Traditions

Recipe for Miso Soup

Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan

Taiyaki – A Japanese Sweet

Bunny Bento

Fun Sweet “Sushi” to Make for Kids

Hina Matsuri – Doll Festival in Japan

Photos from Kamakura, Japan

Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group

Let Us Know about Gifts Given for Special Occasions in Your Culture!

Japanese Woman Does Western Style Flower Arrangements with Beautiful Results!

Christmas in Japan

Fennel Salad Inspired by Bittman (with a side salad of – now don’t be frightened – mibuna!)

Halloween in Japan and Japanese Yokai Monsters

Multicultural Songs about the Seasons

Can Anyone Help with a Japanese Song about Raccoons or Badgers called “Shojoji”?