Bamboo basket: Traditional local craft

Imaita area, which is a next hamlet of our area, Deyu,

is famous for a handcraft.

Bamboo baskets! Take Kago in Japanese.

(Take=bamboo, Kago=basket)

They are so convenient and very useful.

I love these traditional handcrafts.

The big basket showed below has been used over

20 years. The more you use, the more it becomes

beautiful in colours.

The name of this basked is"Yumeji Kago"

Yumeji is a name of an famous illustlater

in an older time(Taisho period, back to

some 100 years ago) in Japan. He stayed in

Deyu spa for a certain time.

Old photo

Hello.

The photo below was taken in 1928, back to 81 years ago
when our present building was established.



Can you find people on the ground floor's roof?
They were special carpenters who mainly
built Buddism temples and Shinto shrines.

My great grand father and the leader of the
carpenters travelled many places to collect
their favourite timbers. The timbers used
for our building seem very strong, so after
over 80 years, it still remains "healthy".

The long time has essenced flavours to the
building.

Ume Power

It is a season of ume (Japanese plum).
We got the ume from our next door's beautiful garden.
My mother and I visited them and picked the gorgeous
fruit. We make umeboshi (pickled ume with salt and shiso leaves),
using the ume.



Ume plums are rippen around this season of a year,
which is also known as a raining season.
The raining season is called "tsuyu" that is written
"ume"(Japanese plum) and "ame" (rain).

Umeboshi gives great power to your body,
especially in summer, when you've got tiredness.

Hotaru; shiny bugs

Hello.

There are interesting bugs in rice fields
in Deyu onsen area around this season of a year.
That is fireflies (Hotaru)! They give out pretty soft
yellow green lights at night, making the area
so romantic. (Sorry no photos this time.
The best way is to see them directly through
your eyes!)

They seem to come places that have clean
fresh water. That's why they visit us.
I'm proud of our area with full of beautiful nature.

shoubu yu

We have got a special bath today;
On the Kodomono hi (The day for Children), we put
Shoubu (sweet flags) in baths, wishing good health.
It is also believed that the leaves work as a charm
for protecting yourself from bad diseases.
You will enjoy the aroma of the leaves that is a kind of
Japanese harb in our hot spring.

We only have this special bath once a year.
I would like you can try this some day.

It flowers!

Hello.

Our peony was almost ready for flowering.
This photo was taken two days ago.
I've been looking forward to seeing the flowers.



And,
today, which is two days later...



A lovely peony flower arrives!
I had a nice start for a day.
It gave me smiles. Thanks Miss:-)

Hello.

Japanese azaleas (Tsutsuji) are nearly in their bloom

in our garden.

I like the gradation of these azaleas,

from white to vivid pink.

This is one of my favourite flowers.

I don't know the name of this flower in English,

I'm afraid. Does anyone let me know?

(It's called "Ebine" in Japanese.)

You can find this flower in mountainside.

I enjoy finding different flowers in our garden

every day. They give me smiles.

I like this season; full of happiness.