"The First Rabbits" in Babbage Square

On this Saturday, Feb 20th at 2pm, the Blue Lotus Okiya will revive the rabbits. Once more we show the traditional story about their origin, but this time in a different location - in the New Champagne Rooms in Babbage Square.

If you weren't able to attend the last performance in December or wish to see our play again, don't miss this chance! You are cordially invited!

Please use the SL Url below for finding the way to the venue or ask us for a teleport. Douzo yoroshii otano moshimasu!

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http://slurl.com/secondlife/Babbage%20Square/214/219/106/?title=The%20New%20Champagne%20Rooms

February - harbinger of spring

Tani kaze ni
tokuru koori no
hima goto ni
uchi izuru nami ya
haru no hatsu hana

The wind from the valley
melts the ice,
revealing the waves
that might be called
the first flowers of spring.

(Fujiwara no Kintô)

February is the month between two seasons - winter, as there's still ice and snow outside, and spring, when the first plum blossoms begin to bloom. Therefore, a traditional name for it is hatsuhana-zuki, first flower, but it is also called yukige-zuki, snow melting, because according to the lunar calendar it is the time when the snow starts to melt. The lunar calendar also has it that the real New Year begins in February - Setsubun on February 3rd marks the last day of winter, the day following it (Feb 4th, risshun) marks the first day of spring, and the night between is traditionally regarded the beginning of the New Year.

On Setsubun, as the last day of winter, is the day to drive out the bad spirits of the past year. This is done with oni-yarai, a custom originating in China and first celebrated in Japan in 706: first the devils are addressed with prayers, then they will be expelled with peach bows and reed arrows. This is still done at some shrines and temples, but often it's simplified into a folk custom with people dispering the devils by scattering beans and shouting "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" - "devils, get out! good fortune, come in!".

Coming along with setsubun is the obake festival; the world becomes topsy-turvy because people dress up; and so do Geisha and Maiko as well! They dress as actors/actresses, TV celebrities, heroes of old myths, etc and go to their engagements. And also their guests dress up and entertain them in turn.

There are some more old traditions for Setsubun, like yaikagashi, the hanging of a holly sprig over your door, together with a sardine head (if you can't stand the smell, you can just hang up the sprig of course =), but it has already got out of fashion - more popular, on the contrary, is the custom of the takarabune-makura, the treasure boat pillow: in Japanese folklore, there are seven treasures (takarazukushi) and seven deities of good luck (shichifukujin), coming over the sea on a treasure boat (takarabune). On the night of Setsubun people put a picture of this boat under their pillow and if they have a lucky dream that night, it is believed that they will be lucky for the whole year.

The Blue Lotus Okiya will celebrate the New Year with setsubun on February 3rd at 10am with bean throwing and later the day with obake, and you are cordially invited to celebrate it with us!

Hatsugama 2010

Every January as a herald of the New Year the Blue Lotus Okiya celebrates Hatsugama.

This year as always it was a collection of the okiya family and some close and honored patrons, assembled together for the early morning event. For some hours the sim was closed to all but those on the special guest list. Giving the invited patrons full use of the okiya grounds after the event to relax.

Hatsugama, the first tea of the year, was hosted by our Okaasan, Mikido Yoshikawa. Maiko Umeha and Ichisumi assisted her in presenting the ceremony. The event was simple enough to follow for novice tea aficionados but still held all the charm and traditional aspects of Hatsugama.

Guests were greeted in the entrance of the entertainment retreat and guided through a walking tour on the spirituality of the Japanese Tea ceremony on their way to the tea house.Everyone sported kimono lending to the serenity of the gathering. The Blue Lotus women were all attired in complementary kimono formed a welcoming line near the entrance of the tea house.

Once inside the tea house was tasteful and serene, the perfect showcase for the traditional kaiseki meal followed by the first tea ceremony. The meal it self was a work of art each traditional dish painstakingly recreated. The guests bantered quietly and everyone had a relaxed good time. Sharing this moment with friends, family and close patrons made this Hatsugama one of those snapshot moments you cherish of your time in Second Life.

For more pictures of hatsugama please look at our photo album.

Akemashite Omedetou-san Dosu!

In other words, happy new year to all our patrons!

The ladies at Blue Lotus have wrapped up our to-dos for last year, and we are feeling refreshed and ready to face the year 2010 with big plans and, as always, the aim to continue bringing the beauty of the flower and willow world to Second Life. We look forward to sharing the year with all of you!

Already we'll be ringing in the year with some auspicious events during the month of January. First, the geisha will be going back to work on the 2nd to host the first ozashiki of the year on board the SS Galaxy. We hope to start off the month with a lovely performance there and as always, a relaxing bowl of tea. The ozashiki will begin at 4pm, we hope you will join us!

Another of the events we'll be hosting during the New Year period is Shigyoushiki, the hanamachi's annual awards ceremony honoring the maiko and geiko who have made significant contributions during the last year. This will be our first time hosting Shigyoushiki at Blue Lotus. The date and time is still to be decided, so keep checking the calendar to find out when!

Yet another of our events planned for the month (and the one I am personally looking forward to the most) is Hatsugama. Literally translating to 'first kettle,' this is a reverent event marking the first full tea ceremony of the year. As the chado instructor at Blue Lotus, okaasan Mikido Yoshikawa will perform the honorable task of serving tea for her students. We are very fortunate to have a teacher with such great knowledge of the way of tea, and it will be an event to remember.

More events will be announced throughout the month, so keep up to date with the calendar and we'll look forward to welcoming you all again to Blue Lotus in 2010! Blessings to you for the year ahead!

Regards,
Maiko Umeha 梅 葉

Blue Lotus winter play: The first rabbits

As the month December slowly approaches its end, the Blue Lotus Okiya cordially invites you to a story about heaven and earth, snow and fluffy animals with long ears loved by children: rabbits.

When they first came down to our earth, no one expected them to turn into what we know them to be today. And though they are hopping still, never to return to the place they originated from: the sky.

Don't forget to put on your warm clothes when you come to discover their journey with us...

Monday, Dec 28th

12pm SLT
Noh stage, Zarathud

December: four seasons come to an end

When the first snow covers the last green and sends all plants and flowers into hibernation, in the sky a pale tinted winter moon rises, indicating a coldness deep inside, when it's getting more and more foggy outside and in the homes fires crackle... then goku-getsu has come ("end of the year-month"), also known as shi-hatsu-zuki ("four seasons come to an end-month") and haru-machi-zuki ("waiting for spring-month"), or, as we call it, December.

With the twelfth and last month in the year a busy time begins in Japan: koto-hajime, the start of things to be done at the end of the year. Everybody prepares for New Year, sends out greeting cards and small rice cakes to cherished people, settles last differences and disputes, purifies and decorates the home for New Year. In the Kyoto-Osaka area, Geiko, Maiko and other people of the showbusiness solemnize Hatsuyori on the 13th: carrying along kagami mochi, rice cakes, as gifts they go around to the different teahouses and their masters' houses to bring their New Year's congratulations. Tea people set pine branches and/or daidai oranges into the alcoves, cover the stepping stones, the water basin and the doorsill in the garden with straw lids to protect them of the white crystals and set the mood for yuki no cha, the tea ceremony celebrating the first fallen snow. As the end of the year approaches, they change the kama, kettles, several times. And while they do this for the last time for Joyo-gama, the tea ceremony on New Year's Eve (joya), okotousan is celebrated in Kyoto - literally meaning "such a busy moment, there's so much to do." After visiting the teahouses of the different quarters to express their gratitude and to receive small gifts, all Geiko and Maiko go to the Yasaka shrine to light up a wick of rice straw with the holy Okera flame and take this wick home to ignite the oven, as this brings luck for the coming year.

And so do we at the Blue Lotus celebrate the end of the year! Though there might be no public celebrated Koto-hajime, there are other exciting things coming up: in the following weeks our sim will slowly turn into a landscape of snow sculptures and on Sunday, 27th, at noon we will show you the origin of the first rabbits in our winter play.
Okotousan: such a busy moment, there's so much to do. So let's cherish this special month together. The Blue Lotus warmly invites you!

Momijigari, the Maple Hunt

As the autumn chill sets in and the trees start turning their most glorious colors this month, Blue Lotus invites you to celebrate Momijigari with us on the 21st of November!

"Momijigari" literally translates to "maple hunting," and this is precisely what the practice is about: during the peak turning season, Japanese families take a day to hunt around their area for the most brilliant red maples, and picnic underneath them in reverence of nature's beauty.

In the spirit of this, we'll be bringing all the shades of autumn's beauty to the sim and inviting you on a hunt for these beautiful maples! The event will begin at our brand new entertainment complex on the corner of the sim. There will be prizes given to the best hunters, and afterwards we invite you to join us in our brand new entertainment complex for refreshments and a movie.

We hope to see you there! Ookini!

Saturday, November 21st
11am - 1pm SLT
Begins at the brand new entertainment complex of Blue Lotus