#TTDOF

[missmyloko]

Kanzashi of The Month: January - 2023′s Design

On The Twelfth Day Of Fun I present... this year’s kanzashi! Thank you to everyone who’s been following along with the features this year! If I didn’t get to your ask during TTDOF then please know that I still may have it kicking around and will get to it eventually. For now, let’s look at what 2023′s bringing us!

Image courtesy of Shigemori.  Sensu (扇子) - Folding Fans Matsu (松) - Pine Kangiku (寒菊) - Winter Chrysanthemum This year’s kanzashi has a nice, classic look to it with shiny folding fans accented with bright green pine! It’s cute to notice that the plum blossoms on the middle of the fans cover each color that plum blossoms bloom in (white, pink, and red) and don’t repeat. The pine makes a very bold and masculine statement to balance out the very feminine folding fans and plum blossoms, giving it a yin yang feel. As usual, we have kangiku acting as a base, with pink and white being used for senior maiko, like Fukusono above. 

Image courtesy of Kazurasei.  2023 just happens to be the Year of The Rabbit in the Asian zodiac! Known for being the luckiest of the twelve animals, rabbits are also blessed with intellect and charm. In Japanese mythology it is said that a rabbit resides on the moon pounding mochi (rice cakes). There’s an interesting story of how the rabbit got on the moon in the first place: One day the king of the gods came through the forest disguised as a beggar. Various animals all came to offer the beggar something to eat, but the rabbit could only provide grass. In an act of self sacrifice, the rabbit threw itself onto a fire to cook itself for the beggar. The king, recognizing the rabbit’s sacrifice, placed the rabbit on the moon for all to see and thus the rabbit now lives on the moon ^^

[missmyloko]

Corona Virus Woes

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been answering any questions since TTDOF ended. Well, it just so happens that on the 12th day I caught COVID and have been battling it ever since. I'm slowly recovering, but still require some bed rest. So, never fear, I have been receiving your questions, but I just haven't had the mental prowess to answer them. Hopefully I'll be recovered in a few more days and then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Until then, keep sending your questions in and I'll look forward to reading them while I recover ^^

[missmyloko]

Getting To Know Me - Part 6

On The Tenth Day Of Fun I present... more about me! I’m still holding out hope that we’ll see this year’s kanzashi design before TTDOF are over so that I can highlight that, but for now, we’re going to learn a bit more about me ^^ Today I want to take a dive at something that most people find some joy in: sports. I think we can all agree that, no matter what, we all have a favorite sport, whether that’s something major that gets large media coverage or something a bit more minor that you wished got the NBA treatment. This could be anything, from swimming to volleyball to gymnastics. But for me, it’s baseball. And not just any baseball, but Major League Baseball (MLB).  Since it’s January I’m currently in baseball withdrawal, but damn if I’m not keeping up with the latest trades and rumors. However, that’s not entirely what I want to focus on. I want to take a look at my favorite team: The Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, it’s normal to grow up loving the home team, but when your home team is the home team for an entire country, what’s not to love? (okay sure, when I was growing up the Expos existed too, but they don’t anymore, so there’s that). They’re a young team with some excellent acquisitions (minus a few, but not everyone can be a gem) and hopefully will be playoff contenders again in 2023 (and maybe not choke this time). I think that everyone says that about their favorite team (minus the choking part), but it really holds true for the Jays, especially for their star shortstop, Bo Bichette. I am a huge Bo Bichette fan. Like, so-huge-I-own-socks fan (very comfortable and officially licensed might I add). Sure, his field playing could use some work, but nobody’s perfect. His hitting is only improving with each season and his nomination for a silver slugger was definitely well deserved this past year. It also helps that the guy is extremely easy on the eyes (look him up if you don’t believe me).  So yeah, when I go to my next game on July 1st I’ll definitely be rooting for the home team and a certain shortstop in particular. OK Blue Jays, Let’s Play Ball ^^!        

[missmyloko]

The Twelve Days of Fun 2020/2021 Edition

Here’s a complete list of everything that was covered during The Twelve Days of Fun for this outing! Day 1: What’s In a Pocchiri? Part 14  Day 2: What’s In an Obi? Part 2 Day 3: Getting To Know Me - Part 4 Day 4: What’s In a Name? Part 22 Day 5: What’s That Thing? Part 25 Day 6: What’s In a Book? Part 37 Day 7: The Karyukai Summary of 2020 Day 8: What’s In a Kimono? Part 8 Day 9: Kanzashi of The Month: January - 2008′s Design Day 10: Maiko Fans of The Gokagai Day 11: What’s In an Obi? Part 3 Day 12: What’s In a Dance? Part 17

[missmyloko]

The ‘Twelve Days’ Are Coming Back!

It’s time to make it official! Starting next week The Twelve Days of Fun are returning! Get ready for 12 straight days of features, many of which have been requested by YOU over the past year! Some teasers include: -New dances! -New book reviews! -The start of a new series! So, keep December 25th in your calendars and prepare for some FUN!

[missmyloko]

The Twelve Days Of Fun - 2018/2019 Edition

For a quick guide to what made it this year look no further! Day One: Spotlight - Special Tribute - Onihide-san Day Two: Kanzashi of The Month: December - Maneki and Mochibana Day Three: What’s In a Pocchiri? Part 1 Day Four: What’s In a Name? Part 20 - Yu (柚), Kyō (杏), and Momo (桃) Day Five: A Random PSA About The People Who Actually Run Things - Part 4 - The Onesan Day Six: What’s In a Motif? Part 7 - Water Day Seven: The Karyūkai Summary of 2018 Day Eight: What’s In a Dance? Part 14 - Ume Wa Saitaka (梅は咲いたか) - Did The Plum Blossoms Bloom? Day Nine: Kanzashi of The Month: January - 2019′s Design Day Ten: A Random PSA On New Year’s Activities In The Karyūkai Day Eleven: Kanzashi of The Month: Forgotten Motifs Day Twelve: What’s That Thing? Part 20 - Misedashi Statistics Bonus Day: What’s In a Book? Part 28 - The Kyoto Gokagai by Hiroshi Mizobuchi

[missmyloko]

Hey Myloko, I just bought the Gei of Geisha for around 30€ new on Amazon this month. Since it's released in the US, I can imagine it's a bit cheaper over there? Kiharu Nakamura's autobiography really doesn't seem to have been translated to english, which I find strange, since she lived in the US for the majority of her life.

30 Euro is almost 50 Canadian Dollars, so it’s still a stretch for me ^^; But, it’s definitely on the list and since I got some gift cards for Christmas I may look into making that my next next purchase (my next purchase is currently in the mail and it may arrive before TTDOF are over ^^). I found a source that said that Kiharu’s book was in English once, but that may either be an error or it’s just so old that print copies are nigh on impossible to find.

[missmyloko]

Get Ready For FUN!

For the third year in a row I’ll be hosting The Twelve Days Of Fun, twelve straight days of features, starting on December 25th! I haven’t planned out all of them yet, but a sneak peek at some of what you’ll see include: -The start of a new feature that’s been hinted at a few times now! -New additions to current features and series! -Answers to some questions that I’ve been holding onto for quite a while that will be turned into their own features! So, get ready for an information overload complete with colorful images, colorful text, and colorful FUN!