Mizuhiki page 3
Baskets_by_nancy
Mizuhiki page 1
"Sho Chiku Bai" are created each year after the wara ... rice straw ... from the new rice crop has been dried. They are then presented as New Year gifts to family & business associates to wish the recipients "Good Luck & Prosperity" in the New Year. The "Sho Chiku Bai" is displayed for a short time during the first few days of the New Year. Traditionally, they are then discarded by burning. The "pine=matsu, bamboo=ta-ke', and plum tree=ume' " are resilient & survive in the harsh weather of Japan ... for this reason, in combination, "Sho(pine) Chiku(bamboo) Bai(plum flower)" is created.
Mizuhiki is used to create my "Sho Chiku Bai."
Learning to create this treasure ship in June, 1996 when I visited my Aunt Sumiko and cousins Dr. Yoshikazu and Mrs. Kaoru Nishimura in Hiroshima, Japan, has brought the ultimate, unforgettable, experience-of-a-lifetime in my pursuit to master the Art of Mizuhiki.
To my revered instructor: Ueda Sensei ~ This is truly my treasure ship ... filled with unforgettable memories and an everlasting friendship with Sensei.
On-going project
Top: packaged Mizuhiki cords are made in Japan, packaged in California, sold in craft stores.
Center: cords ~approx. 36".
Bottom: Red handle=mini-needlenose pliers. Gray handle=scissors. Spool of wire. Bottle=Tsuya Dashi ~ paper lacquer. Chiribou=Metal Mizuhiki Curler.
The original concept of tying gifts with colored cords originated in China. The Japanese have improved the cords to it's current level of beauty, strength and reliability to withstand the knotting process.
Uses of Colors: Weddings ... crimson ~ red, red/white combination ~ gold or silver or in combination.
Condolence: black ~ black/white ~ dark blue.
Celebrations ~ happy occasions: any happy, bright, sparkling colors.
Symbols: Long life = Crane(tsuru) ~ is said to live for 1,000 years and a pair will be together for life.
Turtle(ka-me') ~ is said to live for 10,000 years.
Congratulations: Sea bream(tai) ~ the Japanese word for congratulatory is "medetai."
New beginnings = Butterfly(cho or cho-cho.)
There are several Mizuhiki Museums in Japan. I visited two of them in May, 2003 ~ Kawanoe Paper Museum in Kawanoe City, Shikoku and Sekijima Kogeikan in Nagano.
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JUST A NOTE: As I traveled through Japan in 1994, I shopped for Mizuhiki instruction books. Clerks in the book and department stores did not know what Mizuhiki was until I pointed to the "decorated" envelopes which were for sale in the gift section at Sogo Department Store in Yokohama. The decorated envelopes are called "noshi" but the clerk had no idea what the decorations were made of. I am told that creating with Mizuhiki is a dying art. Could this be the reason why the clerks did not comprehend what I was inquiring about? However, as I continue to interact with hotel guests in Waikiki, I have discovered that without the envelopes, the Japanese guests are quick to say "look! Mizuhiki!" when they see my display. There are cities in Japan where Mizuhiki is being produced by groups of dedicated artisans ~ both in making the cords as well as creating the beautiful, exquisite Mizuhiki art pieces. The artisans in Nagano Prefecture produce 70% of the Mizuhiki used in Japan.
