Japanese Girls

Kimonos don't have pockets but in ancient Japan the solution was the Netsuke, an ornately carved containers that hung from the kimono with a cord. In modern Japan it looks as though the mobile phone may have taken its place. Traditions ancient and new in one photo.

The kimono is traditionally made from a single bolt of fabric and sewn by hand. I listened to a programme last year about  how the art of making the fabric is in danger of dying out with the craftspeople reaching great ages and the kimono industry shrinking in size. 

The card came with

one of the flower definitives complete with Asiatic Honey Bee, its honeycomb as we know loved by bears. The little bear is Poskuma, the postal worker bear who loves flowers and eats honey toast for breakfast . Oh boy that bear is going to get chubby with Japanese Honey Toast which sounds like heaven (recipe here) and enough calories to keep you going for a week.  The stamps is from a set of 2012 Autumn Greetings stamps, the Teddy Bear was created by Machida Setsuko, the designer Nakamura Hitomi, love the bow peeking up at the top. I discovered that Japan Post has a whole raft of their newly created Poskuma collectables, perhaps to attach to ones mobile phone.

Thank you Noriko