Kimono Beauty : The Furisode

Back of Gold Furisode
Originally uploaded by pointybunny.

I will be discussing kimono in a series on the different styles and history of each starting with my favorite, The Furisode. I love kimono, I love the beauty, elegance, and simplicity in what can be an every day object. Each kimono is different and original in it's own way, each design was created for a reason and has underlying meaning. Many people over look this ancient art form. It IS an art form.

(to be continued...when my daughter is asleep ha ha)

Nosy People and Interesting Article


Sometimes people here are just so nosy, especially the older women. You never know what you are doing wrong either. The women here make this horrible noise, mostly when they are surprised, they go EEEEHHHHHHHH!in these big shrieky voices. It's hard to describe unless you have heard it. Once in an elevator, I had an older man tell me bluntly "You are too tall for a woman." Now what do you say to that?

I got a rash on my chin from an allergy to something I ate and I was told it is because Americans do not have strong skin. Now if I was Japanese, I would have strong skin. People make me laugh, they are so polite most of the time and then pop out of left field with these outrageous personal statements.

This is an interesting article that backs up my nosy people statement:

Woman held for fracas after being scolded for putting on makeup in subway

Thursday, April 28, 2005 at 07:22 JSTTOKYO -

Police arrested a 22-year-old woman Wednesday on suspicion of seriously injuring an elderly woman after the latter admonished herfor putting on makeup on a Tokyo subway platform.Akimi Odajima is accused of injuring a 65-year-old woman by grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, causing the elderly woman to stumble against the first car of a train arriving at the platform, the police said. Odajima has denied the allegations. According to Tokyo police, Odajima, a restaurant employee and residentof Tokyo's Meguro Ward, was admonished by the elderly woman around11:30 a.m. on the Hiroo Station subway platform operated by TokyoMetro Co.They said the victim, a resident of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture,suffered head and chest injuries. Odajima reportedly told investigators that she wanted to clarify to the woman that she was not actually putting on makeup but wiping the sweat from her face with a sponge used to apply makeup.According to the investigators, Odajima was sitting on a bench on the platform when the woman admonished her, saying, "You should not put on makeup here."They said Odajima followed the woman, called out to her and then shook her by the shoulders. (Kyodo News)

Fast Food Vs. Sarah Michelle Gellar

Just a quick entry here as it is late and I am too sleepy to be very coherent. However, I just saw Sarah Michelle Gellar touting "The Grudge 2" on the Conan O'Brien show a few minutes ago. She has recently come back from Tokyo from filming "The Grudge 2" so Conan asked her how she liked Japan.

She said she went to McDonalds and in Tokyo you have to ask for your hamburger without egg on it otherwise they will put a raw egg on it. She warned the viewers "Make sure you ask for your burger without an egg on it, they put one on every hamburger" Then they laughed and made some jokes about it.

Now this is why everyone thinks Japan is such a wacky place. People come back from visits to Japan with all these weird stories that no one can really prove or disprove because not that many people you know have visited there. T and I are, or should I say "were" frequent fliers at McDonalds - Until we watched the movie "Super Size Me" and I have NEVER seen an egg on a hamburger at McDonalds or Wendy's for that matter. I have never been asked if I wanted an egg removed from a burger nor seen T eat an egg burger before and I have watched him eat dried squid for breakfast! We have probably been to half the McDonalds in the Tokyo area and I haven't seen that. Maybe someone reading this has???

The McDonalds near us is actually a very pleasant place to go. It has many overly friendly employees in beautifully clean uniforms and they even wear the matching hats. When you go through drive thru and your order takes a little time they bring out your meal and give you an extra coca cola or something for your trouble and bow as you drive off. The place is very clean and they pick up the tray after you finish but I think that is because they think Gaijin won't figure out the recycling bins. They got that right.

Once we went through the McDonald's drive thru and they didn't give T the honey mustard for his chicken thingies....McNuggets, I think they call 'em. So he called to complain and they actually sent someone to drive over and bring him some honey mustard PLUS they gave him a fresh order of nuggets!! Now would you ever see that done in America??? Not hardly. You don't complain in case they might spit in your food or something equally vile. One day I will write about the customer service in Japan. One word to start - Outstanding.



They have most of the usual fast food joints in Japan. McDonalds, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, KFC (Which they call "Kentucky") Subway, Outback Steakhouse, Mr. Donut, Denny's etc...Usually I have found the menu to be basically the same as the US menu. Notable exceptions though would be Denny's and Pizza Hut. On every menu, of course, there are a few Japanese specials and favorites but even in the US there are regional variations. I remember having an arguement with a Japanese friend over whether Red Lobster was an American company or not.

Point is, I never saw an egg on a hamburger in McDonalds in Tokyo. Where was Sarah Michelle Gellar?

Addition to Post 10/21/2206:

I should add an explantion of the comments on here as well.

The Japanese are fond of "Moon Viewing" The moon is admired and people celebrate with food for viewing the full moon in Autumn. Called O-tsukimi and held usually on September 15th or August 15th, according to the old lunar calendar and called Ju-go-ya.

The raw egg hamburger dealy is a special food around for the moon viewing time. Or you can order it from restuarants . So it does exist is my point I never made, but not as a McDonalds staple for every burger you have to panic about getting a raw egg on it.

How to get Married in Japan

I suppose I should tell you about the day we were married. I wanted to get married on Halloween since it's my favorite holiday because Taka said I could pick the day. Unfortunately the City Hall was closed that day and the day before so I picked the 29th instead. We were both unemployed at the time and didn't have much money so any kind of real fancy wedding was out. I had invited two friends of mine from the US to come but only one of them was able to but at least I had one friend with me to share the day.

In the days leading up to that day we didn't really talk about it much. His parents never mentioned it all so I was worried that it wasn't going to come true. I kept asking Kristin if she thought it was serious or just talk. I would have been mad if I sold everything I owned to come to Japan for no reason. I am a worrier though. I worry about all kinds of things that haven't happened yet and probably won't. I know it's a bad habit but I can't quite break it. I can stress myself out in 10 seconds flat if I try.

The morning of the 29th I woke up full of apprehension and Taka didn't say much, he just came back dressed really nice and asked me if I was ready. I just wore a nice shirt and pants and tried to do my make up extra special. The three of us geared up for an interesting day. I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up.

Marriage in Japan:

U.S. Embassy in Tokyo Address:
1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 JAPAN
(03) 3224-5000 (general switchboard)
(03) 5354-4033 (visa information)

If you wish to marry in Japan, you will do so according to Japanese law. Marriage in Japan consists of a civil marriage registration by the couple at a Japanese municipal government office.
Only this civil registration constitutes a legal marriage in Japan. Ceremonies performed by religious or fraternal bodies in Japan, while perhaps more meaningful for you, are not legal marriages.Consular officers unfortunately cannot perform marriages.

There are just a few things you'll need to do to get married. Let's get started!

Article 731 to 737 of the Japanese Civil Code stipulates the following requirements:

The male partner must be 18 years ofage or older and the female partner must be 16 years of age or older.

In addition, for Americans, you must be able to legally marry in your home state; if the legal age of marriage at home is 18, you cannot marry earlier than that in Japan.

A woman cannot get married within six months of the dissolution of her previous marriage. According to Japanese law, this is to avoid confusion as to the identification of a child's father if a birth occurs close in time to the end of the marriage.

Most people related by blood, by adoption or through other marriages cannot get married in Japan.

A person who is under 20 years of age cannot get married in Japan without a parent's approval.

Japanese law requires all foreigners who marry in Japan to first prepare a sworn Affidavit of Competency to Marry (Konin Yoken Gubi Shomeisho 婚姻要件具備証明書)(the "scrambled text" displays the form's name in Japanese if your computer is set up with Japanese fonts), affirming they are legally free to marry, from their own country's embassy or consulate in Japan.

You can download a blank affidavit form.This form is for use with one American partner and one non-American, such as when an American man marries a Japanese woman. The form has two parts, one to be completed in English and the other to be completed in Japanese.

If your partner is also an American s/he must also complete a sworn Affidavit of Competency to Marry at the Embassy. Use this form in cases of two American people marrying one another. The form has two parts, one to be completed in English and the other to be completed in Japanese.

These forms are required by Japanese law, and are not a requirement of the U.S. Government. No registration of your legal marriage abroad is required by the U.S. Government, and your Japanese partner need not come to our offices.

After completing the affidavit, please visit our offices with your valid U.S. passport and the $30 notarial fee (we accept cash, US$ or Japanese Yen). Sorry, but we cannot accept checks at any of our offices in Japan.

At the Embassy in Tokyo and our Consulates in Osaka and Naha you may also pay using your VISA, Mastercard, Discover, Diners Club or American Express card.

For the Japanese Partner...

The Affidavit of Competency to Marry you completed needs to be translated into Japanese, along with your parents' consent, if you are underage. Your Japanese partner must also complete a Japanese municipal government form called the Kon-in Todoke needed to register a marriage.

Two witnesses of any nationality over 20 years old must sign the Kon-in Todoke. Our staff cannot translate or prepare these documents.

Generally non-Japanese witnesses will sign in longhand, while Japanese, Korean and Chinese national witnesses may be asked for their seal (Inkan 印鑑)

The Japanese Government and/or the local municipal office may also have other requirements for your partner; please check with the appropriate municipal office. Typically, Japanese citizens will require a certified copy of their family register (Koseki Tohon 戸籍謄本) or its extract (Koseki Shohon 戸籍抄本) issued within a month of the marriage.

Get Married

This is the part of this whole procedure that actually makes you and your partner "married."

Once all the paperwork above is completed, proceed to the appropriate Japanese municipal government office. To avoid any disappointment, be sure to confirm local marriage procedures and rules directly with municipal government officials.

Once the marriage procedures are completed, the municipal government office issues a Japanese language "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage" (Kon-in Todoke Juri Shomeisho) for 350 yen each.

That's it-- Congratulations!

(Taken from the US Government Embassy in Tokyo, Japan website)


Now Back to Our Story:

Everything says you can get married in one day. It is possible though it can be aggravating and tiring. First we went to city hall in Taka's town and filled out paperwork and paid some fees. Then off to Tokyo!!

It was about a half an hour drive to the embassy then we had to find parking and pay for that. Then go through the metal detectors and guards into a very bleak interior where there were alot of confusing windows and signs. I was super confused. We finally sorted out the paper work we needed and paid some more fees. I was operating in a fog at this point since it seemed like I couldnt understand anything anyone said to me. They kept asking me why I wanted to get married. I really didn't have an answer for that because anything I said would have come out sarcastic. Like "DUH we love each other" or "Because I want to use his Playstation 2 more conviently" We did all this traveling and paperwork so far but we stilllll weren't married. Back for another half an hour drive to City hall again.

Allright! more paperwork, more signatures, more strange looks. We are an odd couple to begin with I suppose but in the US it doesn't stand out as much as it does here. If I was someone else I would be thinking "There's a green card marriage right there" I had my camera with me this whole time and didn't even think to take a picture, That's how wigged out I was.

Back to Tokyo again to the embassy. There was some mix up in security with the water I was carrying and they took my camera away. There was alot of people waiting in the room to get visas to the US. The consulate head guy there finally signed the paper that said we were officially married and he said "Congratulations" and I just gave him a blank look and asked "For what?" Seriously, I was that confused. He just stared at me oddly for a moment and replied "on your new marriage" I said "OHHHHHH ya, thanks" and we headed out the door. Then back to City Hall where there was more stuff to do and they said they would send out our marriage certificate in the mail.

We kissed, Kristin said congratulations and that was that. What a romantic wedding day. What every girl dreams of. Taka took us out to eat at his favorite restaurant and I was kind of grumpy because Kristin was arguing with me over vegetables. Taka just looked shell shocked. Then we went to an arcade and played some games and I went into a store by myself and was slightly depressed. It wasn't at all what I expected my marriage to be like and to this day maybe I get a little jealous of girls who get to have the nice wedding where all their friends come and its beautiful. I suppose I shouldnt complain though since I married the person I love and I get to share my life with him forever now. A ceremony is just a added bonus. I appreciate that I did have one friend there.

On the ride back home he asked me to take his last name and I said I would. There it was. Now I have to be a wife. A new role I never thought I would get. His parents were home and didn't say a thing to me. I think maybe the wierdest part of the whole procedure is none of his family and none of his friends were there and they were right here in the same town. It made it seem even more unreal. His family ignoring it was the worst. We live with them! I don't think in the beginning they were very happy with me.

Another funny thing was even though I had my camera with me the entire day, I completely forgot to take pictures and no one else took pictures so we have no pictures of us getting married. Kristin took two of them later at night after we got home and changed but nothing else.

It took us a long time to get used to being married. I was used to living alone and he is used to being a coddled young man so we both had issues to work out. It was hard but it can be done if you try hard enough.

Anyway, and that's how it happened. I swear!