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New Zenrinkan Blog!

Come check out the Zenrinkan Current Events blog, it's finally up and running!  We have lots of interesting things to look at and discuss!  This Thursday, the topic is "Bias in the Media".  Come join us!

~Alicia

June Corn Dolly

This month the corn dolly class tried their hand at hanging baskets. It is a difficult technique as the shape must gradually get wider and wider from a point to make a cone and keeping the sides an equal length is very tricky.  There were a lot of false starts, but eventually everyone got it!

May Cooking

Today in cooking we made a Scottish sweet called macaroons.  Maybe many of you know the French macaroon made from meringue, but these are a pastry made with almond powder.  Inside there is a spongy almond center with jam inside.  We made two types, one with a pastry lid and the other with a cherry on top.

Nuno Zori

Today with the sign language circle we made some Japanese cloth slippers.  They were so fun to make and even though it took a lot of concentration, it was certainly worth it.  I have been wearing them around the house and they are so comfortable.

I made a website about how to make them, so if you haven't tried before, give it a go!

Day Trip

All the staff from Zenrinkan had our annual day trip today.  We all met at Hachimangu shrine and were lead around a selection of local temples and places of interest by Ms Murai.   We learnt many interesting facts and saw some little hidden away places, before filling up our water bottles at a local spring.  

After eating lunch at Stella Monte, we took a tour of the local sake factory and learnt about how they hand make some of Iwate's famous alcohol.  Sadly the factory is only in business over the winter months, but still the smell of fermenting rice and the sight of the huge tanks and bottling machines was a wonderful experience.

May Corn Dolly

Over two sessions, the corn dolly class members completed their most difficult project so far.  They made praying angels.  The dress is a very difficult technique, but all the students managed it without too many problems.

In the first two hour session, they made the wings, arms and head.  Then they spent the second two hours making the dress.

A Day of Culture

This week A-sensei' mother is in Japan, so they spent a day at Zenrinkan trying out some Japanese culture.

First they tried their hand at Japanese calligraphy and after learning the basic strokes had a go at writing their name in Japanese characters.  After an hours practice Mrs F wrote a beautiful piece on some patterned, fan shaped paper which was put into a frame. 

Then we were off downstairs to be fitted up in kimonos ready for tea ceremony.  Of the 15 guests, about half were dressed in kimono.  We ate a lunch box of rice, fish and vegetables before taking tea made by three different people, two from the Edo house style of tea making and one from the Omote house.  All the guests tried the "hoshi no mukashi" macha tea and enjoyed three different types of Japanese sweets, including a cherry blossom flavoured steamed bun with bean paste inside.

Mini exhibit

This semester seven students have been regularly coming to my corn dolly class.  It has been so fun teaching them about this traditional English craft.  I have been so impressed with how much they have all improved.  Over ten weeks the students learnt all the basic techniques and this week we made the final project.  All the students tried to make something different and used the skills they had learnt to try to make it all by themselves.  The result was some amazing, detailed and beautiful projects.

The final projects on display in Zenrinkan

We shall be continuing the class once a month from April, so please come and have a try!

Hairmake Graduation

Today we went to the Hairmake College graduation ceremony and party.  It was amazing to see all our students dressed up in beautiful kimonos.  We also had a chance to wear a kimono.  It was our first time to wear one, so it was very exciting.  I never knew it was so complicated to put on!  We also went to Defi hair salon to have our hair put up.  It was a very exciting day.

What do you think?  Do we look beautiful?

In the morning we went to the ceremony (but we were almost late because we forgot where it was!  hahaha).  Then in the afternoon there was a party at a hotel.  There was lots of good food and drink, but our obi were very tight, so it was hard to eat or drink much :(  There were also many exciting stage shows by the students and teachers.  Of course everyone was crying.

We are looking forward to meet all the new students next year!

Kids' Festival 2009

Today we had the fifth annual Kids' Festival.

It opened with the announcement of the winners of the poster competition. The first prize went to Kyoko who got 1000yen to use in Toys-R-Us. The two runners up were Shunpei and Nozomi who each got 500yen.

The main event and was opened by Sota and Takumi and we then got to see 13 wonderful performances ranging from singing to plays and even a quiz. Everyone tried really hard and we were very impressed how well everyone remembered their lines.

Well done to all those who took place and thank you to all of you who came. We look forward to seeing what next year will bring.

January Cooking Class

Even with a blizzard blowing outside, a handful of brave ladies made it to Zenrinkan to make this month's recipe; Lancashire Hot Pot.

This food is perfect for the winter months as it is hot and full of vegetables. The base is a stew made from lamb, peas, carrots and corn. Today we actually used beef instead as it is a more popular meat. I think this is one of the best things about English cooking, that it is very flexible. This was proved by Mrs A. who as we were eating thought of more and more ingenious ways to develop it; cheese on top, pasta inside, putting the whole thing in a sandwich, and deep frying it in crepe parcels!!

Corn Dolly Making

One of Zenrinkan's teachers, Nicola, introduced the British craft of making corn dollies today.

Many years ago in Pagan England, people believed in many different gods, similar to the Japanese Shinto belief. One of these gods was believed to live in the wheat, so when it was cut down at harvest time, it became homeless, so the people made corn dollies for it to live in over the winter. The shape of the corn dolly varied by region.

The corn dolly we made today is a simple version called a "countryman's favour" and has no connection to religion. This came from the custom of men making a heart shaped favour for ladies when they were walking in the countryside. If the lady was wearing her present the next time he saw her, it meant the love was reciprocated.

Among the members were three elementary school students who all said they had a nice time.