Living in Japan has these things... having a traditional festival right on your door!

Viver no Japão tem destas coisas... ter um festival tradicional quase á porta de casa!

You know  tengu? Great part of japanese tradicional mithology! 

Conhece o Karura e o Tengu? Seres fantásticos que fazem parte da mitologia tradicional japonesa!

*** Have a great summer end!! ***

***MOVING DAY -- A Domestic Scene in Old Japan***

A nice 1880s studio shot by KIMBEI KUSAKABE. Cute little girl with a doll helping dad carry a wall scroll for the living room wall. Interesting Kimono on all. 

Albumen silver-print.

日下部 金兵衛 (1841 - 1934)

Yesterday I talked about Okinawa Soba fantastic galery, right?! The name just for it self it´s quite sugestive... (the soba from Okinawa it´s delicious) I know Rob`s Gallery for some years now and it always been subject of great joy on my side. Today I came back again and discovered the most amazing collection, some of them are really impressive and somehow rare, you can find a group on  kimono life, another one on gaijin geisha, for the ones more interested on historical sides, and so on, it´s a world to explore! And almost all photos have a historial description, feel free! 

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Ontem eu falei sobre a fantástica Galeria de fotos de Okinawa Soba, certo ?! Só o nome já é bastante sugestivo... (a soba de Okinawa é deliciosa!) Eu conheço as fotos do Rob há alguns anos e as suas fotos sempre foram um motivo de grande prazer para mim. Hoje voltei de novo e descobri coisas ainda mais incríveis, alguns álbuns são realmente impressionantes e raros, há um grupo sobre kimono, outro sobre geishas estrangeiras, enfim, é um mundo á espera de ser explorado! E quase todas as fotos têm uma descrição histórica, fique à vontade, é muito divertido!!

Want to let you know that my shop has little kimonos for baby for sale and everything is now -30% DISCOUNT. Also want to share with you some super-cute baby photos from Okinawa Soba sugoi* photostream. Those really are interesting if you like old vintage things from Japan.

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Quero dizer-vos que a minha loja tem alguns kimonos de bebé para venda e tudo está com -30% DE DESCONTO. Também quero compartilhar com vocês algumas fotos lindíssimas de bebês em kimono de da galeria de fotos de Okinawa Soba. São realmente interessantes para quem gosta de artigos vintage vindos do Japão.

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Have a great Summer!

Casámo-nos ontem! 

Acho que ainda estamos naquele período de felicidade estapafúrdia que nos faz sentir bêbados de alegria.

O Koji tinha pesquisado no calendário japonês do Rokuyo quando seria o próximo dia 大安 – Taian, dia "alegre", ideal para celebrar datas especiais ou para iniciar atividades importantes e apontou o dia 12 de Agosto como um "dia feliz". Eu não sei qual é a origem deste calendário mas sei que tem uma grande influência na vida dos japoneses, ignoro se realmente tem alguma influencia no nosso dia-a-dia. Vocês também podem consultar aqui. Apesar de estarmos em pleno Verão, enquanto caminhávamos para o Registo Civil tivemos uma chuvinha, que segundo o costume português veio abençoar o nosso casamento!

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We got married yesterday! 

I think we're still in that period of happiness that makes us feel drunk with joy.

Koji had researched on the Japanese calendar Rokuyo when would be the next day 大安 - "Taian day" or "happy day", ideal to celebrate special dates or to start important activities and pointed the 12th of August as a "happy day". I don`t know what`s the origin of this calendar but I know it has a great influence on the lives of the Japanese, ignore if you really have some influence on our day-to-day. You can also check here. And despite the fact that it´s summer, we had a few showers when we were alking to City Office, according to portuguese custom, it is called a "blessed marriage"!

Rokuyo day	Significance
先勝 – Sakigachi (also known asSenkachi or Sensho)	Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon
友引 – Tomobiki	Good luck all day, except at noon
先負 – Sakimake, (also known asSenmake or Senbu)	Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon
仏滅 – Butsumetsu	Unlucky all day, as it is the day Buddha died
大安 – Taian	'The Day Of Great Peace', the finest day for ceremonies
赤口 – Shakku, (also known asShakko or Jakko)	Bad luck all day, except at noon

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Have a great Summer in Japan! 

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Recycling Kimonos and Yukata

It came to my hand a great serie of kimono and yukata and also a good serie of interior kimono clothing that I wonder what to do with it them. There are people who loves to wear kimono, both japanese and foreigner, also there are many artists who love kimono fabrics and working directly with them. I have a nice sequence of vintage kimono and yukata for sale in my shop just in case you like asian matherial to work. 

This last one is cotton and was used as interior clothing under the kimono. It´s almost transparent, very nice for a summer dress, you can`t deny the beauty of this simple vintage piece.

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The other day we visied Shimokitazawa, a city that I simply adore by the amazing quantity of free markets and vintage shops I can find all around and had the chance to take a look on new designers work on vintage kimono. A shame that we were not allowed to take so many pictures...

But on-line there are many, many good ideas that can inspire yourself!

    From Alison Fomich, jewelry maker

Brauval Stock , great conjuction of colours and patterns

 Both bags from Kazue West 

 Nice kimono re-purposed as a dress from Sew in Love 

 Scarf from Colors Australia 

 From Attic Japan 

And even a limited edition from the sport brand Puma, that you can buy in designated shops.

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Have a great Summer!