Oct. 16 - Ann and I much enjoyed our visit to Tsugaru-han Neputa Village in Hirosaki, Aomori. There we listened to a wonderful performance of Tsugaru Shamisen. The shamisen players were so lively and enthusiastic! Their playing style was quite different from the shamisen playing we have heard in Tokyo. We also saw an exhibition of Hirosaki's Neputa festival floats, and I even got a chance to play the "taiko" drum! Since it was a hot day, we also enjoyed some delicious, cool apple juice pressed from Hirosaki apples.

Ann and I have always enjoyed Japanese handicrafts - we have a small collection at home of old-fashioned Japanese toys made of clay, bamboo, paper, and wood. Therefore we appreciated the chance to try making our own handicrafts at the Neputa Mura studio. I decided to paint a clay whistle that sounds like a dove - hence its Japanese name "hatobue," or dove flute. Ann was more ambitious and decided to try her hand at painting a wooden Daruma. We shared the studio with many Japanese children who were enthusiastically creating new handicrafts.

Neither Ann nor I are particularly skillful with the paint brush, but two nice teachers explained the painting techniques and helped us practice. With their encouragement, we tried our best. You can judge for yourself from the photos whether we were successful or not. After Ann finished painting hers, we both agreed that her Daruma bore a striking resemblance to Ann's older brother Gene!

Until next time,

Jim