I just received this response from my friend Kazu to the home page:
Thank you for letting me know about your new posting on Shangri La. I enjoyed reading it very much. I think you eloquently described your Shangri La experience. I agree with you in that we have deeply moving very personal spiritual experience there. The same sort of feeling we have when we enter some sacred grounds, places, and in nature.
Something that connects us to the past, future and the journey of the universe… almost eery and haunting.
I remember having the same sort of experience on the hill of the Valley of Kings, Pu‘uhonua O Honaunau on the Big Island, in a mountain in Japan, Kukaniloko on Oahu, and one night when I was sailing the Pacific.
Thank you for sharing.
p.s. attached please find a sunset photo I took from my lanai yesterday…probably a very different kind of sunset from what you saw from Shangri La.
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Sometimes people write back to me when I notify them that I’ve posted something about their enterprises. This was the case with Susan Sherry, owner of Forest Renaissance Creek Shoppe (maker of the Flemish pill hat, which I hope to buy for my Halloween outfit), who wrote to say
Thanks so much for the wonderful comments in your blog. I’m one of those relatively new entrepreneurs that is trying to buy inventory from other American women business owners. Some are one or two person operations that sew for me, while others are women who have built up wholesale renaissance clothing companies. Any imports are from American-owned companies with operations overseas that pay above average wages and provide a clean, safe, respectful, comfortable working environment.
If you’re a new visitor to Mindful Shopping and haven’t yet found out about FRCS, click on the Clothing or Halloween link, and you’ll find a post about the company.
Another person I heard from was Pablo, of Unique Japan. Here is our correspondence:
Hello and Konnichiwa,
Thank you very much for your kind words regarding Unique Japan. It really means a lot to us. We’re very passionate about UJ; our products, their stories, and the tremendously talented people who create such unique treasures. To know that other people share our enthusiasm just fuels our work to greater heights.
Do let us know if you have any questions, suggestions and ideas for us.
Thanks again,
Pablo, Mayumi and the UJ team
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Aloha Pablo, Mayumi, and the UJ team,
It’s my great pleasure to bring UJ to the attention of people who visit the blog.
I was especially impressed with the umbrellas. When I was growing up in Hawaii, we had a few Japanese umbrellas in our home (Japanese culture was much stronger in the islands at that time, and there were many places where you could buy such things). When I saw the pictures at your site, I was taken back to those days and the impressions I formed as a child.
Thank you for making the world more beautiful and keeping alive Japanese traditions and crafts.
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Very pleased to hear from you, thank you for sharing your childhood memories of the Japanese wagasa. Aren’t they wonderful?!
The wagasa come from Kyoto and still made using traditional handmade methods. One of the few remaining in Japan that do, and it’s so impressive to see in person. We intend to add more umbrellas to our website, mainly those that can be used as decoration in the home as you spoke about. We will keep you posted on that.
Your support of UJ is much appreciated and we will continue to do our best to keep the Japanese traditions alive.
Above are three of the images from UJ’s page on the uchiwa, and below is a description:
Uchiwa, which translates to mean “wind fan” were first introduced to Japan from China in the 5th century. The present-day type of Uchiwa, which is made of a rounded paper and bamboo, came to life during in the Muromachi period in Kyoto Japan (1338-1573).
Adhering to strict traditional methods, the construction of the Uchiwa framework always begins with the strong, flexible and elegant qualities of bamboo. The fan is then carefully wrapped with a gorgeous Japanese pattern printed on organic washi paper. The character on the Uchiwa displayed here is of the moon, known locally as “Tsuki”.
The fan is uniquely designed to be displayed on the included handmade wood stand making it a lovely decorative piece for any room in the house.
Rich history
In the very beginning, Uchiwa fans were sacred tools used in Buddhist ceremonies and rituals. These first designs were not rounded as they are today, rather more like rectangles mounted on a stick. The Japanese imperial family and other similar class families used Uchiwa fans to block the sun and discreetly hide their faces from the public on the small number of occasions when they travelled beyond the palace gates.
Uchiwa was and is still used to keep cool during the hot Japanese summer months and serve as a handy guard against pesky insects. In the Edo period (1603-1867) an extremely large Uchiwa with a long handle was implemented by firemen to combat house fires.
