When I was in Japan this past month, again I was given a lot of cultural gifts, such as kimono, kasuri fabric, hankies with sakura blossoms, etc.

As much as I appreciate these presents, it became time for me to start rearranging a few things around our home. While reorganizing my collectibles, I found this Yosegi-zaiku parquetry box. I would have just moved it aside, if I had not read an article about this special skill just a few days before.

Parquetry box from Japan

Yosegi-zaiku parquetry is a craft combining colors and grains of wood to create mosaics.

The different types of wood used are macropoda holly, zelkova, lacquer tree, or camphor tree.

The very first yosegi-zaiku is said to have been made by the artist Ishikawa Nihei of the Hakone region in Kanagawa Prefecture in the later part of the Edo period.

This traditional craft is done by Japanese with a deep understanding of the nature of wood.

Back in 2008, we tried to get to the top of Mt. Aso, an active volcano on the southern island of Kyushu (Japan).  Due to heavy sulfur fumes, the top of the mountain was not accessible to the public.

Just this month, we were fortunate to visit Mt. Aso on a sunny morning.

On our way up, we stopped at this roadside stand selling blocks of sulfur.

Blocks of sulfur for sale on Mt. Aso

Notice the shade of green in the bubbling hot water.

Mt. Aso in Japan

This is one of my favorite pictures showing volcanic rock formations and a man-made rail.

Volcanic formations around Mt. Aso

Last, but not least. I have again become a fan of Japan’s unusual fusion food, strange concoctions, and unlikely flavorings, such as this one…. black sesame ice cream.

Black Sesame Ice Cream at Mt. Aso

Out of the unusual ice cream flavors I had sampled during this trip (Black Sesame, Wasabi and Corn), I liked the wasabi flavored one the best (more about that on my post about the Taio Gold Mine near Hita).

You can’t see the whole sky through a bamboo cane.

- Japanese saying -

When I go on Japanese Airlines, I really love it because I like Japanese food.

- Phil Collins -

On March 3, Hinamatsuri (雛祭り) is celebrated in Japan. This Girls’ Day, a.k.a. Dolls’ Festival, is a day to pray for a young girl’s growth and happiness.

Girls' Day in Japan

On my very first Hinamatsuri living in Japan, I was invited by a student’s mom to attend her daughter’s hinamatsuri celebration. My being a foreigner also lured other moms to her house to have a closer look at me – the foreigner with yellow hair and a high nose. And being from Germany also added even more to my being an exotic guest (Kitakyushu had a population of over one million, only four of them German citizens).

They asked about my previous employment in Germany. I told them about my job in management and was surprised to learn they limited my skills  to that of an office lady (OL). As late as the early 90s, office ladies existed en masse within Japanese companies. Their job description entailed the following: be young and pretty, willing to make copies and serve tea.

With great effort due to my then limited Japanese speaking skills and their low English listening skills, it was difficult to convey I had not been an OL. But I managed, but then I got classified as a career woman. Among others, future Rabenmutter also entered my mind. Career woman just sounded being so selfish, with these moms tending to their children’s educational needs and their husbands’ appetite.

It was rather difficult for these Japanese wives to place me in the middle – I was a young woman in my late 20s, working to make a living away from home, and paying my own bills.

A lot has changed in these past 20 years. Young Japanese women have more options nowadays and can fill the in-between spots in society. They have the freedom to be   more than an OL, yet also more than a housewife, and succeed in a career without being called a career woman.