Show Off Your Pots and Cups, Part IV

[britt]

One Japanese waitress had learned she could get better tips if she relaxed the traditional kimono rules a bit. Although male Japanese customers didn't mind the lack of tradition, their wives did. Although my girlfriend was Chinese, the unhappy wives pointed to her as an example of how a kimono should be properly worn. My friend explained the rules to me, and although I don't remember what they were, they did seem a bit complicated.

Heh, I wonder how she relaxed the rules. Maybe she pulled the front of the kimono down a bit to show more "cleavage" rather than keeping the collar high in front and low in the back...

Good guess; I was trying to avoid giving a description due to a lack of words, but this sums it up perfectly. Then, of course, she would lean over a bit while standing in front of the male customer. She apparently didn't realize or care that the wives might not appreciate her innovative kimono technique as much as their husbands did.

Here are four (!) videos that explain all the steps of putting on kimono, from the underwear stage (and there are at least 2 layers of "underwear") to the final donning of the obi and its related bits and bobs.

Unfortunately, my home connection is too slow to handle videos and I'm not sure my employer would appreciate the underwear stage as much as the rest of us; they monitor employee computers. Thanks, though, for supplying the links.

[RussianSoul]

Here are four (!) videos that explain all the steps of putting on kimono...

Part 1 of 4
Part 2 of 4
Part 3 of 4
Part 4 of 4

Holy cow!

And I thought my Zen meditation robe/kimono was hard to put on!

[britt]

Wow, that's the haul from just a couple months, huh? You may have a problem my friend I am duly impressed. I particularly like the Bizen Yohen (Sangiri?)..

Thanks, I was never a Bizen fan before I bought this particular cup. I'm now in the process of converting. Yes, it is Sangiri, or "scorched surface" tea cup.

Unfortunately, I can't control this habit, be it Bizen or something else. I just ordered a Shigaraki cup this morning that must have been posted on 2000 Cranes last night. I justified the purchase A) because I wanted it and B) because I haven't spent the Bush rebate yet. Thanks, Dubya, for the nice Shigaraki cup; I'm sure you intended for us to boost the Japanese economy with those rebate checks!

Note: Several pictures from yesterday's post have disappeared due to 2000 Cranes replacing sold out items with new ones. I'll post the new Shigaraki purchase later.

Have you ordered from Inbeya before? They list some excellent Bizen Yunomi at fair prices, and I can attest to their quality.

No, I never even heard of them even when I did a search for Bizen, unless I saw it and passed because the site is in Japanese. They have some great stuff here and I have bookmarked the site. It also helps that you can vouch for their quality, although I've had virtually no trouble with my other Japanese business dealings, except when they hire Westerners to communicate!

I suppose Bizen is not particularly traditional for Yunomi due to heat-retention, but I love drinking good Sencha or Shincha from Bizen. I think it definitely enhances the flavor and tempers astringency.

I've found the same thing as far as Bizen and the taste of sencha-shincha. In general, unglazed Bizen and Tokoname cups give me the best taste with sencha and shincha that I've had so far. I've heard this before, especially about Bizen, and I can't in any way disagree with those statements.

[tenuki]

Here are four (!) videos that explain all the steps of putting on kimono

Long live jeans and a TShirt!!!

[britt]

Very nice! I have been really wanting a Korean set for sometime now.
Still on the lookout!

Have you checked out Korean-Arts yet? I haven't purchased anything from them, but they have some great looking teaware for those who don't mind them decorated with flowers, birds, bamboo, etc. Nothing rustic here, but some very nice, more formal style items.

http://www.korean-arts.com/tea_ware/tea ... t_sets.htm

[britt]

This morning I bought a Shigiraki tea cup by Hiroaki Wada on 2000 Cranes. I have to wait until the artist makes the wooden box, so I won't receive it for about two weeks. The last time Mr. Wada was making a wooden box for one of my purchases he knocked my matcha chawan off the shelf and broke it. I wish him better luck this time!

What the matcha chawan looked like before the accident:



This artistisan is very diverse and his products cover a wide range of styles, unlike many other Japanese artistsans who work with only one pottery style.

Hiroaki Wada's Kotoura Kiln:

http://www.2000cranes.com/Kotoura-Kiln.htm#HWada

Yohen Haikaburi Green Tea Cup by Hiroaki:

[chamekke]

Here are four (!) videos that explain all the steps of putting on kimono

Long live jeans and a TShirt!!!

That's exactly how I feel after three or four hours of wearing kimono. Ahhhh - comfortable clothes again

[chamekke]

The last time Mr. Wada was making a wooden box for one of my purchases he knocked my matcha chawan off the shelf and broke it. I wish him better luck this time!

What the matcha chawan looked like before the accident:

{a moment of silence - respecting the memory of your late chawan}

{doffs hat respectfully}

[britt]

The last time Mr. Wada was making a wooden box for one of my purchases he knocked my matcha chawan off the shelf and broke it. I wish him better luck this time!

What the matcha chawan looked like before the accident:

{a moment of silence - respecting the memory of your late chawan}

{doffs hat respectfully}

I wasn't even upset when they told me they broke it. I was actually relieved because the chawan cost $800 and it could have just as easily have been me who dropped it, in which case there would not be a refund. I had never spent that much on a chawan before and I haven't even thought about spending that much since. This was fortunately a free lesson. Mr. Wada even paid the funeral expenses.


P.S. Chamekke, thanks for paying your respects to this poor E-Garatsu, who passed away so suddenly and at such a young age.

[witches brew]

Here are four (!) videos that explain all the steps of putting on kimono, from the underwear stage (and there are at least 2 layers of "underwear") to the final donning of the obi and its related bits and bobs.

Although, it's more fun to see someone putting on kimono by herself, especially if she's good (and let me tell you, putting on an obi without assistance is like doing origami behind your back!). My tea teacher, who has countless years of experience and is super-good at it, can go from her Western togs to full Japanese dress in about three minutes.

Part 1 of 4
Part 2 of 4
Part 3 of 4
Part 4 of 4

Now I really want to wear kimono. That's just awesome. Someday...because I enjoyed the tea ceremony demo so much that I want to take lessons.

[olivierco]

New chawan: I needed a box and ended up with adding another chawan to my collection.

[olivierco]

[Victoria]

Ohhhhh a whole family!! Nice! Are they white? Nice fair cup, contoured!

[olivierco]

Are they white?

I think so. I will be able to answer in one or two weeks.

[hop_goblin]

Boy, Japanese teaware sure out numbers Chinese stuff. Nice Chawans btw.