inspiration for new years cards

Here's a cool link to some samples pages of the November issue of the Japan Etegami Society monthly magazine. It features ideas for New Years Etegami with horse-dolls and images sent to the magazine by readers. 2014 is the Year of the Horse. 

glorious summer vegetables

cucumbers

tomatoes

more tomatoes

eggplants

goya (bitter melon)

kabocha (Japanese pumpkin, top) and misc. veggies

corn on the cob

legumes (top) bell peppers (bottom)

In honor of summer's end, I selected some charming examples of traditional etegami from the pages of the September issue of Gekkan Etegami (the Japan Etegami Society's official magazine). These were painted and submitted by Society members throughout this summer.  I, as you know, spent most of the summer experimenting with new inks and painting styles. But when I saw these pictures, I fell in love all over again with good old traditional etegami.

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

fish, from the cradle to the grave

I just received the July issue of Gekkan Etegami, the official monthly magazine of the Japan Etegami Society. This month's issue features fish etegami submitted by readers from all over the country. The top photo shows living fish, including the one in the bottom right depicting baby catfish. The second photo shows shrimp and sea bream, both of which are prized for their reddish coloring, and which are served at weddings and other celebratory occasions. The third photo shows a variety of shell fish, and the next three photos show fish and other sea creatures in various stages of preparation leading to being consumed for dinner. The last photo shows what is left of the fish at the end of dinnertime.  Yes, we are taught to pick our fish bones clean. And even bones are a worthy subject for etegami.

I wish I had the time and space to translate some of the more amusing accompanying words.  I'll give you just one example: These dried whole baby sardines are the basis for a nutritious soup stock used in many dishes, but most commonly as the stock for miso soup. These little fish are often thrown out once their flavor has transferred to the soup stock, but if eaten with the soup, or dried and later crushed and sprinkled over rice, their bones provide a great source of calcium. The writing on the card translates to: "Hey you, yes we mean you. How's your bone density these days?"

the fathers in our lives (part 1)

from the June 2012 issue of Gekkan Etegami

Gekkan Etegami, the Japan Etegami Society's official monthly magazine, always features Father's Day etegami in their June issue. I want to share some pages from my copy of this month's issue, to show you how a handmade Father's Day card (especially if it's etegami) beats any commercially-produced greeting card, regardless of your drawing skills. I also want you to see what the Japan Etegami Society considers to be good examples of traditional etegami. Maaaaybe you will find that the works which used to impress you the most --the ones with refined drawings and elegant writing-- are not the ones that the official etegami magazine would feature in its pages. Do you have any thoughts on why this should be so?

I'll post a few of the pages whole, and then zoom in on a few individual etegami to describe them in greater detail.

a child's wooden clogs

The artist remembers her father as being skilled with his hands. For this etegami, she painted a pair of her childhood clogs, one of them turned over. I imagine her father used to repair the ties of her clogs whenever they would break or come undone. The words on the card say "Father, I still have these clogs."

a traditional carpentry tool

This etegami depicts a handmade tool used in traditional Japanese carpentry that the family has kept as a memento of their father. The artist remembers fondly how her father supported his large family with his carpentry skills. The words on the card say "It still conveys the warmth of your hands."

an igo board

The artist's father loves to play igo, the Japanese version of checkers. The words on the card speak of the day her father won their prefecture's annual senior citizen's tournament. She says the smile on her father's face wrapped her whole family in happiness.

freshly-dug bamboo shoot

The words on the card say "Our dinners are delicious and plentiful, thanks to Dad's homegrown vegetables."

dish used on a Buddhist memorial altar

The card says "You died and went to heaven before we ever met, and yet I'm always bothering you with prayers for help. It's thanks to you, Father-in-law, that we've been able to overcome some difficult times." You may wonder how she can send a Father's Day card to one who is no longer living. She will probably set this card on the household altar where the family ancestors are worshiped.

ripe persimmon on a branch

The woman who painted this etegami tells of the day she went shopping for a picture frame for her artist husband. She wasted a lot of time because she had so much trouble making up her mind. She went home and explained this to her husband, who responded with the words she quotes on this card: "I never had the slightest doubt about who I wanted to marry, you said to me. I will always treasure those words."

a fistful of regrets

So far we've seen cards drawn by sons and daughters for their fathers, a daughter-in-law for her father-in-law, and a wife for her husband. Finally, I want to show you a card that a father drew about himself, probably for his son. It shows a fist, and it says "If only I hadn't hit you that day. If only I had given you a big hug instead. If only that day, I had taken you out to play. Now it's too late!" Perhaps his son has died. Perhaps they are just estranged from one another. If they are only estranged, I hope he will send the card to his son. Would you find a card like this at Hallmarks?