Calligraphy

Ink stick. It gives fluid ink if you rub it with water.


Lately, calligraphy devours quite a large part of the time given to me. This is a part of my workshop. Together with the twisted faced dragon Nathan, I wade through the quaggy but beautiful and satisfying marsh of the Japanese calligraphy.

Field of gold, field of happiness, field of ice-cream

Kintarô candy 金太郎飴

Kintarô was born in 10th century as a robust sweet kiddo. He was one of the strongest and bravest boys in the area, could even beat a bear in a wrestling competition. When he grew up, he became a successful, handsome guy, the man in the town (of Kyoto).
In present, every parent who discovers that his newborn child is a boy, wants him to become a person like Kintarô. The candies are simply sweet.

Holy fish.

All of the sudden, one day after work the boss gave me those two lovely creatures. I suppose they are imitations of the temple-side carps (koi 鯉) of a worldwide fame. The colors match. This　species is know for its inclination to creep into humans' bath tubs to enjoy the hot water celebration together with them.

Quiet, please

"quiet, please!
and listen up
feel free to grab the hand
of the person on your right"

- Cold War Kids sing. In the Tokyo metro, feel free to sleep on the shoulder of the person on your right. It is also allowed to read or write messages. Nevertheless, eating, doing make-up, couple of other such rebellious actions are recommended not to be taken. Apparently, there were many among those who didn't respect the not-speaking-on-the-phone rule since a poster displayed above hung on the Tube walls.
"Turn your mobile off when you are near the priority seats. In other areas, set your mobile to the silent mode and refrain from talking on the phone". The sentence is curved deeply in my cortex.

Monoï - tiaré

A genuine body butter from Tahiti. A present from dear French friends Jean and Danielle, who visited Tokyo lately. No joke, the butter is a real thing. It is stuffed into a perrier water bottle, because it hasn't been fabricated in an industrial way. Monoï is coconut oil, while tiaré stands for a Tahitian gardenia. Every time I rub it into my body before a training, there is someone asking what kind of smell it is. Tempting.

My team T-shirt

My sports team is in fact a Surugadai University's students' activity club. I am not studying there, but I could get a real fancy team T-shirt. Besides all the pride and courage it gave me on the field, it interested me with its tag. An unusually educative one. First glimpse - nothing special
. Second - it explains a complete know-how of the first aid. Moreover, it reminds to attach some light while walking down a dark street, for your own and drivers' safety. How right!