7239 thank-yous

(1) Still trying to figure out how to tell her

Etegami is the perfect way to thank someone, whether you find it easy to express your feelings, or quite the opposite. A few months ago, the Japan Etegami Society (JES) announced a call for thank-you etegami. They received a total of 7,239 submissions. Many of these are included in the August issue of Gekkan Etegami, the JES official monthly magazine, and all submissions will be on display this summer at the two main etegami galleries, one in Tokyo and the other in Osaka.

I wish I could show them all to you, but I only have space here for a few sample etegami. The tiny photos in the magazine didn't scan very well, sorry.

(2) I wanted to make your life easier

(1) To my wife: Not sure exactly what the image represents, but the man who submitted this etegami is from a generation of men that do not easily express their emotions. He wants to thank his wife for putting up with him through thick and thin, but he finds it difficult to simply say "I love you."

(2)  To my parents. A pink carnation for the artist's late parents: "I can finally afford to do much to make life easier for you, but now it's too late."

(3) I found a hobby

(3) To my husband:  The artist says that she was so busy with her job, housework, and taking care of elderly parents, that she reached retirement without any hobbies of her own.  Her husband urged her to find one that she could continue into her old age, and then she discovered etegami.

(4) I can tell that Mother is happy

(4) To my sister: The oldest daughter, or the wife of the oldest son, often ends up being the caregiver of elderly parents. In this etegami, the artist thanks her elder sister for the tender care she gives to their aged and mentally deteriorated mother.

(5) I was so happy I cried.

(5) To my son. The artist fondly recalls the handbag that her son bought for her with his very first paycheck.

(6) To my mother: The artist likens the love and protection she received from her mother to broad beans in their soft fuzzy pod.

(6) Thank you for being the support of my heart

(7) Thank you for loving her

(8) Yummy looking sand-rice

(9) No one can take your place

(7) To my son-in-law: In Japan, the V-sign commonly represents approval or pleasure. In this case, pleasure that the young man has become part of her family.

(8) To my grandchild: Toys in a Sandbox. The artist thanks her young grandchild, through whom the world looks bright and full of hope.

(9) To my good friend, who is like no other.

(10) Let's separate the trash according to the rules

(11) Sorry I work you so hard.

(12) wild flowers on the path

(13) You are the greatest therapist

(10) To the hard-working garbage collector: I'm always grateful for what you do.

(11) To my bicycle: Thank you for taking me up the hill to the hospital through rainy and windy weather.

(12) To the wild-flowers blooming at the edge of my walking path, thank you!

(13) To my pet cat: The warmth of your body brings me healing.

(14) From the tsunami survivors to all in Japan who prayed for us and sacrificed for us after the March 11 disasters.

(14) The heart of the Japanese