2015, Fly High

This year run out fast: it has been intense, funny, unbelivable, pacifier ... all that I've been needed.
To me 2014 will always be "the year of the headstand" since on January I practically learnt how to make it during my yoga classes, and metaphorically during my entire year. Practicing a lot and challenging myself I started a new chapter with new awarenesses and pleasures surrounded by the best people on Earth to whom I will always be grateful.
In 2013 someone suggested me to "fly down". Since then I have been started to FLY EVEN HIGHER. Hope you will be able to do so next year too.

Happy New Year

Origami Day

11th November: the entire World celebrates the Origami Day as a symbol of peace.
Let's spread the joy of paperfolding by making and donate a little paper creation to whom we love, appreciate or are grateful.

Naoshima {pt. 2}

Downtown Naoshima is a group of 5-6 business 200 metres far from Miyanoura Port. The place is small and cozy taking lots of inspiration from the Hawaiian fresh style.
We had lunch in the shop of the Island I loved the most: Shioya Diner, high recommended by Lonely Planet too.

 

It's a rock-and-roll hash house serving spicy taco rice, hot dogs and avocado everything. The design of the place has something exotic mashing up with kitsch knick-knacks all around.

The landlord couple is so funny: dressed up in a vintage style they are all in one with the environment they have decorated.

Naoshima {pt.1}

After 14 days travelling, a crammed full backpack and a thousand photos taken it's time to reorganize my thoughts and show here a little from Japan.
Naoshima was the last destination of our itinerary, but the most wanted, dreamt and waited since 2005, the first time I've heard about this inspiring Art Island located into the Seto Inland Sea.
Just a quick post to anticipate the early objects of my desire, the partial abstracts of the real core of the island itself: Yayoi Kusama's yellow & red pumpkins.

A soon as the ferry docks at Miyanoura Port the first contact with Kusama's art is the one with the red pumpkin greeting your arrival to the island. This is the less popular one but it's climbable inside and enlightened by red polka dots lights.


The yellow pumpkin (1994) is not so easy to find, but it's worth the long-long climb (not talking about the super hot weather we found on the way). It is located on the southern side of the island, near the Benesse House Museum and Hotel.
Imagine the view: the smooth sea in front of you, the wild nature behind (as long as the nature could be 'wild' in Japan) and a backlit yellow stain, there.
It followed astonishment, a hundred photos and unforgettable memories.

Sometimes your dream places come true.

Planning hours

Planning a roadtrip around the Country where you left your heart is never easy since you are divided between visiting places never seen before and walking down the same old streets you've already known and still miss a lot.
It tooks time and little surrenders, but we managed to have a detailed plan of our close Japanese holiday.

Two the destinations I am particularly appreciative of.

1) Kōyasan (Mount Kōya), the cradle of esoteric and ascetic Japanese Buddhism where doing trekking through the temples and shrines and been hosted by the monks for the night.
>>> go to the website


2) Naoshima, an open-air museum island located in the Seto Inland Sea. There you can walk trough the architectural works of Ando Tadao up to the famous Kusama Yayoi's polka-dots pumpkin located on the shore. Beyond the museums the funny Naoshima Bath "I♥湯", together public bath and design treasure itself.
>>> go to the website

Tetsubin {the Japanese pot}

Imagine the greatest flea market nearby my hometown (the one in Feltre every second Sunday of the month) and 15 euros as a budget. Take a sunny afternoon strolling through the stalls and the loot is an original Japanese teapot traditionally called Tetsubin (鉄瓶) all made of black cast iron with its provided box. 

#Japan2014

Old travel books and new ones. Paper sheets, notes I've taken for ages and blue ink. Good vibrations, places I'd like to go, pictures I can't wait to take, roads I will walk through for real.

I mean, this is going to be a great summer. Won't it?

DIY Ikebana {Indoor hanami}

Dopo che abbiamo bevuto assieme, amici cari

facendo galleggiare fiori dei susini nei nostri calici,

non mi importa se quelli dell'albero non vi sono più.

- Man'yōshū -

After having drunk together, dear friends of mine,

letting floating the plum-tree flowers into our glasses,

I don't mind if the ones on the trees aren't there anymore.

(Translation of mine)

If you live in a Northern Italy small town on the mountains, you might miss the cherry blossom season you have admired in Tokyo once. This is why I blew the dust off a book about Ikebana and tried to recreate a kind of indoor hanami putting together some blossomed branches from my favourite trees of the garden.

I assembled:

Plum-tree: that most resembling a cherry one

Pyrus: my favourite pinky short-lived flowers tree

Magnolia: for an Asian touch of spring

#sakurandom {2nd edition}

Another year has passed and it's time again to celebrate the hanami season together on the web. The idea came out on Twitter (#sakurandom) one year ago and I'm glad to announce that this year we celebrate our second edition full of pink falling flowers, gathering ideas and springy views.
Everyone is invited to this virtual pic-nic under the cherry trees.
You just need to take your imagination and your will to share ideas and pictures on your Twitter, Pinterest and blog. Are you in?

Find more here:
www.bibliotecagiapponese.it
www.nihonexpress.blogspot.com
www.giapponepertutti.it
www.sabrinamiso.com
www.wanderinjapan.com
www.patrickcolgan.wordpress.com
www.tradurreilgiappone.com
www.wa-ga-shi.blogspot.com
www.viaggiappone.com

Iki, The Art Of Seduction

On Friday night I went to the opening of a pretty exposition in Pordenone. It took place in a concept store, Être, a place you immediately feel comfortable in it. There, Magda Di Siena presented a small collection of pictures portrayed young geisha from the early 50s. The "postcards" were found at an antiquary shop based in Tokyo coming from a private collection of an Okiya, the geisha house.

What a perfect occasion to hear and discuss together starting from the "Structure of the Iki", a well-known work by Shūzō Kuki, one of the most prominent Japanese philosopher of his times.
いき means "seduction", the first art a geisha has to learn.

Knowing Iki is perceiving the fragrance of an entire culture. And maybe it helps us knowing how much 'being' is important for another life. (Shūzō Kuki)

Pics © Moustaches

Japanese Pattern

I do have a crush on repeated geometrical shapes and this is why I adore Japanese ceramic and traditional geometrical fabrics. You can easily understand why I was so thrilled when I found out this small collection of typical motives with a brief description of their names and significances.

My favourite is the Asanoha (麻葉) one that I chose for my beloved bowl bought in London, remember? The name can be translated into "hemp leaves" and it is one of the most popular, frequenty used in women's obi from the Edo period. It is a six diamond-shape pattern arranged in a radial manner identifying itself with the hemp which grows well and so often used for swaddling clothes.

Well, if you don't get enough, here a small extract from a precious digitalized Japanese album collecting more than 100 examples of stencilled textile common patterns from around 1800 -1900. Adorable!

Credits:
1. 2. 3. 4.

One, Two ... TEA {Tieguanyin}

New year, new column! As I am a real coffee-hater, I let my affection for green tea to inspire me starting a virtual journey across some varieties I filled my beloved tin boxes with!
I have written about Japanese green tea before and you already know I am more devoted to the ritual in itself than to the property of the infused green leaves. That's the reason why I always have my tea-break starting from the choice of the perfect cup (I know it sounds a little bit obsessive!).
As I said before: I am not a tea expert. What I need to do here is giving you a quick overview about my favourite and recent purchases/discoveries.

Let's start from the Tieguanyin (铁观音), a variety of Chinese oolong tea I got from a Chinese language classmate of mine who recently visited Beijing. Guanyin was the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, like Kannon is for the Japanese culture. The name of the tea can be properly translated into English like "Iron Guanying", a trubute to this female entity that, legendary, gave a poor farmer, Mr. Wei, a precious tea shoot as a reward for having taking daily cares of the iron statue of the Goddess by the Fujian province. That was the very beginning of the production and selling of this Chinese green tea variety with a very flowery, fresh aroma and golden yellow shade.

 *** I couple the Tieguanyin tea with a minimal white mug from Ikea.