Natsu wa, sugoi, ne?

Ah-chooo! Uhm..Uhu hu..Excuse me..

The weather has been unpredictable lately,

and therefore,
yours truly is having a cold.

With the H1N1 flu still rampant, do take care of yourselves by drinking lots of water and maintaining good hygeine.
Contrary to belief, the flu is not fatal and the reported fatalities are usually tied in with other health complications like heart problems and a compromised immune systems.
Normal people usually recover within 2 weeks of contracting the virus.

On a happier note,
The Bon Odori festival was held last Saturday and as expected, the crowd was more than last year.
In last year's post, I vowed to eat more..which I did. Unagai kabayaki don, korokke, ice cream,salmon onigiri.
Next year I want to try kodomo beer or kodomo no nomimono (read more)which was being sold. This year however, Amane-san bought us Suntory's new green tea drink (domo, domo), which I found very bitter, but suitable to drink with oily foods like unagi.

Proof that race and religion is no barrier to enjoying yourself and learning new cultures.


I was really glad to be able to wear a yukata this year.

Since my waist is larger(hahaaha) than the average person, I took to sewing my own obi, which was quite easy and fun. Usually I'd sew it while sitting in front of my computer, with a anime or drama playing, in the wee hours when everyone was asleep.

When my eyes get tired, I'll rest them by looking up at the wall, with all these posters ( if you're wondering, no I didn't go to all these plays, only some of them)

This year at the Obon festival, I got to meet my fellow YUI-lovers again. Amane-san and Muzamil-san were also wearing Yukatas.

This year's uchiwa were blue in colour and they looked really beautiful when the dancers waved them in the air simultaneously.

The guest performance that night was by students from various Japanese language schools and Universities. They performed the Soran Bushi.

I also had a chance this year to walk around the stadium taking pictures of other people's beautiful Yukata before the Odori sessions started.

Happy obon. Summer is just beginning. I still have MMU GACC's Chibi Matsuri to go for, so I'm looking forward for that

Lastly, YUI lovers 3rd collaboration, and there are many Malaysians taking part this year, including the coordinator (atheon), ccddss, kippei and natsumi. Mine is track No. 3.

The YL collab. is an annual project where we send our covers to YUI herself, and this is the first time I'm participating. The incredible artwork of the booklet is done by Elkikino! the artist of Yupi-Locks who is from Chile.


We loves the weird friends. Wuvs wuvs wuvs wuvs wuvs wuvs *fading to background* wuvs wuvs wuvs.

Cosplayers: Weirdos or Harmless Pastimers?

Minna minna, genki des ka?
As it is the Japanese season of summer festivals, here's a continuation of the Japanese-related editorials thread.

Cosplay
Although the term itself is of Japanese origin, the culture of dressing up as a favourite character was actually popularized by westerners, especially Star Trek fans ( popularly called Trekkies) and Star Wars fans who dressed in costumes during annual gatherings or conventions during the late 70s and 80s.
With the rise in popularity of Japanese animation in the 1980s, Anime fans began to have gatherings of their own, both in Japan and in America, where they dressed in costumes of anime or manga characters.
Now, however, the term "Cosplay" ( Costumed+Players) has grown to include dressing up as movie characters, favourite artiste/band members, game characters (Mario brothers anyone?), maids and Gothic Lolita looks. Contrary to belief, cosplay is not limited to Japanese based characters.

Popular live action cosplay sources include Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Matrix.
Girls, do we remember this? It's Jem and the Holograms.


Hogwarts, hogwarts, hoggy-warty Hogwarts, Teach us something new...

Our friend Amy will love this, Disney Princesses. All pictures taken at San Diego Comic Con.
(Pic source: Mandy's Cosplay)

I was priviledged to witness some live cosplaying when I went for the Japanese Fair in conjuction with Haha no Hi (Mother's day) in 1 Utama on 3rd May. EMiNA ( the Japanese visual art society) of MMU cyberjaya was there to promote their annual festival called DaiCon.
I managed to take some pictures...



This guy was really friendly. Actually they all were. He's cosplaying...

Chouji Akimichi from Naruto.

This young lady is playing Mana of Malice Mizer, dressing in Gothic Lolita style. This girl mentioned to me rather sadly that her costume was incomplete because the mall was a public place and management doesn't allow make-up that they considered over-over. I really felt bad for her.

Here's a pix of the real Mana. He's (it's not a typo, he really is a He) the pioneer of the GothLoli subculture.



(Pics courtesy of Jasmine Ng)

Here are all the cosplayers. I don't know who the extreme left is, but the middle two are cosplaying Riku from Kingdom Hearts.

Jasmine and Yee Min were there too. Jasmine is shocked...ahaha.

But she was busy snapping away on her LOMO camera anyway.

Cute bleach dolls.
I grabbed some Japanese snacks in between waiting for cosplayers to get ready.


There were other girls in lolita costumes too.
So that's that.In my opinion, cosplaying allows young ppl a creative outlet, and I'm wary of judgmental ppl who label them weirdos.
If you observe the details and effort they put into their costumes and props, you've really got to respect them.
What do you think?

Before we end, a bunch of Kawaii stuff:
Kurita-kun. He's actually an Anpan from Baker's Cottage. Had him for dinner..mwahahaha.

Few days ago I caught this Neko-chan napping outside my bedroom window.

Let's all be happy-chan (copyright:YUPI locks byElkikino)

Until the next post.

What's in my mp3 player Now:

The Kimono Post (part 2)

Minna-san, konnichiwa. This post is a continuation of the previous one.

If you're wondering why there's a sudden influx of Japanese culture-related editorials, it's because this is the season of Japanese festivals, and this is my (sort of) tribute to the festivities

Kimono, The Straight Line

The ultimate goal of kimono-wearing is to achieve the tube look, meaning, to hide all the womanly curves by padding the waist area. Elegance is a key value in Kimono wearing, as it actually limits the length of steps you take (trust me, it's very difficult to run in a kimono).

There are many types of women's kimono, as mentioned previously. They include:

1. Furisode

2.Tomesode

3.Homongi

4. Tsukesaga

5.Komon & Edo Komon

6.Iromuji

(Note: These are the average women's wear, I'm not going into the more elaborate kimono worn by performers, brides and geisha).

The fabric by which kimono are made usually is heavy, thick and lined. The materials can be satin ,silk, cotton, etc. It's usually very expensive. One set can cost up to RM 40, 000 complete with obi (belt) and accesories (which I will cover in Part 3).

Let's begin with :

1. The Furisode

The furisode is worn by young unmarried women, usually during the traditional Japanese coming of age ceremony (when they turn 20) as well as to weddings. YUI san once wore a red furisode to the Japan Academy Awards ceremony in 2007.

Furisode is characterized by its long , swinging sleeves. In olden times, the long swishing sleeves were worn to attract potential husbands ( how things have changed.....). The colours of the Furisode are usually very loud and garish, like bright yellow, red , orange and turqoise. The sleeves of a furisode range from 70cm to 150cm long, and are categorized into 3 groups based on sleeve length (but I won't go there).

2 .Tomesode

One a young woman gets married, she trades in her furisode for a more mature look, and wears a tomesode for formal functions like state events, weddings, company dinners and the like.

There are 2 types of tomesode, firstly the Kurotomesode (pic above), kuro meaning black. They are the most formal kimono in Japanese culture and are worn for state occasions and by a bride or groom's mother during a wedding.
Tomesode are crested kimono, and have 5 family crest embroidered into it. Two are found below the shoulders and 3 at the back, also at the same level. They are visible here as small white dots near the sleeve tops.The family crest or mon is specific for each family. So if you would like to wear a tomesode, be sure to get an un-crested one, or else you would be wearing someone else's name on your shoulders.

Another distinctive feature of a tomesode is that all the designs are confined below the waist. Also, the sleeves are short and the sleeve opening conservatively smaller.

The second type of tomesode is the irotomesode (iro=colour), which is similar to kurotomesode but is made of sobre-coloured fabric instead of black. The designs below the waist is less elaborate and don't contain gold or silver threads.

Irotomesode are considered less formal than Kurotomesode. During a wedding, extended relatives of the bride or groom will wear this type of kimono.

3. Homongi

Homongi literally means visiting wear, and are worn by both married and unmarried women. This kimono is less formal than the Tomesode, and is worn by friends of the bride/groom during a wedding or for formal parties.

The distinctive feature of homongi are that the designs are not limited below the waist are found all the way up to the shoulders and sleeves. As mentioned earlier, fabric designs are seasonal. Cherry blossoms ( sakura) and brightly coloured flowers are usually related to spring, summer designs include water patterns. For autumn, Chrysanthemums and maple leaf designs are common while winter designs include pine, bamboo and crane.

4. Tsukesage

This kimono is similar to the homongi, but has less elaborate designs which are more contained.

(Source: Livedoor blog)

5.Komon

Komon are characterized by the small running designs which are repeated throughout the garment. They are considered casual wear and may be worn while running errands, everyday use and the like. Some women wear these to restaurants, the theater(not the cinema), tea ceremonies and to the temple when paired with formal obi.

6.Iromuji

Iromuji are single coloured kimono, usually worn for tea ceremonies.

Finally,
here are some pics Yune took when we went for Ennichi last November.
These women were involved in carrying out the tea ceremony.


Notice that they are wearing both Iromuji as well as Komon.


This was a Furisode on display at the recent UCSI bunkasai, which I briefly visited.

Last of all, here is my Yukata, which arrived last Saturday from the only Malaysian online wholesaler ohjapan.
Black background with hanabi (fireworks) and leaf design.
I've just finished sewing the obi today, blue with green stripes. Now must practice tying....