Come celebrate Tanabata with us!

Our Okiya, Nakanoshima, is celebrating Tanabata!

For the past month, the Okiya members in Japan Kansai have been working hard to bring this tradition in Japan to life.

Tanabata is a Japanese star festival that takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month each year. The story of Tanabata is derived from the Chinese story of Qi Xi (七夕 "The Night of Sevens"). Legend has it that a King named Tentei (天帝, Sky King, or the universe itself) goes in search of a husband for his weaver daughter Orhime Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess). Tentei finds a cow herder by the name of Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star) and the couple fall in love and marry.

After a while, the work that used to be done by the lovers falls behind. In anger, Tentei sends Hikoboshi away and Orihime becomes heart-broken. In time, her father sees her sadness and promises they can see each other on the 7th day of the 7th month.

Provided it doesn't rain, many Japanese cities celebrate the coming together of these Star-crossed Lovers. During Tanabata, the streets are festooned with bamboo decorations and colorful, streaming lanterns. During our Tanabata we will have some versions of these decorations and food stands! We will also have musicians that will travel along side the parade and a person singing the Traditional Tanabata song!


Sasa no ha sara-sara (笹の葉　さらさら)
Nokiba ni yureru (軒端にゆれる)
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira (お星様　キラキラ)
Kingin sunago (金銀砂子)

Translation:

The bamboo leaves rustle, rustle,
shaking away in the eaves.
The stars go twinkle, twinkle;
Gold and silver grains of sand.


As far as we know, this will be the first attempt by the Geishas in SL to have a parade, so even with difficulties.... we hope that you appreciate the effort. We will be crowning a Tanabata queen and following the parade, we will have a dance in the courtyard with games to continue the party. Also, do not forget to drop your wish in the Tanabata tree! The route that the parade will take is shown on the map to the right - please click on the image to see it full-size.

Unfortunately, due to some technical problems, the play will be postponed to a date after July 7th. Please look out for updates on this!

So please join us on July 7th at 4pm SLT on Japan Kansai!

(Please line up on the sides of the streets..please stay off the roads. Seats will be arranged - if no seats are available... please just stand near them around the areas indicated on the map.)

Website about our Okiya

Many of you know that we host an Okiya (or Geisha School) on the Japan Kansai sim. Well, now they have a website where members and patrons can find out about activities, meet the residents, and see pictures. It is at http://nakanoshima.ning.com/.

If you have enjoyed one of the performances, or are interested in joining, please sign up for a free membership of the site and get involved!

Carts and Wheels and Stuff

One of the less visible parts of the very large Hosoi Mura project has been all the little items that go to make up the character of the place. In the same way that we want to show off the larger buildings, we also want to feature some of the smaller items that you might be interested in having in your own area, to make a place feel a little more "lived-in".

Today we feature two carts, wheels and loads that can be found as part of the Hosoi Mura "Props" series.

The first item is this hand cart, available in two different colour schemes, as shown in the pictures (click on them to view them full-size). You can leave these as-is, or load them up with whatever goods you wish. See later for some of our offerings for loads for the cart.

Next comes our Farm Wagon. This one is pre-loaded with a load, but can be modified to carry whatever you like. This would usually be drawn by a horse or mule. These would typically be used to bring produce to market, also doubling nicely as a stall from which to sell the items.

Note that none of these carts are "vehicles" in the SL sense - they won't move and they don't have animations attached to them. They are intended to be used as static props.

So if you want to decorate your region to make it a tad more rustic, what better way to do it than with these wooden cartwheels? We have two sizes to choose from (with me being the "attractive product model" to give you an idea of the sizes). You can lean these against the side of a building, or sink them into the ground slightly.

And lastly we offer several types of loads that you can stack on the ground, or put onto one of our carts. The first is the one that we used on our farm cart - it has the look of bundles of twigs surrounded by netting. We also have three different configurations of wooden crates with different writing on them, and a stack of wood blocks (not pictured here), that could be used for a building site.

We hope that these items give you some new ideas and inspirations about how to make your corner of the Second Life world more realistic, a place you can proudly call your "virtual home".

Please take a tour of the Hosoi Mura project on the Japan Kansai sim, or see the products I have described in this article at the SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japan%20Chubu/137/145/801/ (this will put you at the landing spot, but follow the red arrow to find the location of these items).

Technical stuff: The handcarts are 21 prims each, the farm cart with load is 22 prims, the wheels 6 prims, and the various loads mentioned here are between 1 and 3 prims. All are sold Modify/No Copy/No transfer, but if you buy the complete set of all Props, those are Modify/Copy/No Transfer.

As always the Hosoi Ichiba team looks forward to seeing you in-world.

Torley takes photos

Torley Olmstead, aka Torley Linden, the man who amplifies our awesome, took a wonderful picture of one of our Akane-Maru Sampans and published it. Thanks, Torley!

Check it out on this Koinop page

The Great Wall of China revamped

Hello friends,

We have great news. We have moved the Mao island with the Great Wall of China into the Hosoi Island Cluster. Also we have revamped the complete scenery and retextured all terrain surrounding the structure. The scenery of the islands Japan Kansai and Mao now connect seamlessly and provides romantic spots with stunning views. Come over and enjoy today!

Just received, hot off the presses. The Great Wall of China on Mao is now featured on the Linden Labs Showcase pages! Next stop, Japan Kansai ;-)

Champagne for everyone!

Ami

A Gift for you, our Friends

We at Hosoi Ichiba like our customers to be happy! In order to contribute to this, we have put together a mystery box for you called the "Hosoi Soshina", which means "little gift". Every week we will place a "Golden Soshina" in a different location in our main store for you to "discover". Also every week the contents of the "Golden Soshina" will be updated with a new high quality item. In the "Red Soshina" which can be found at the entrance to our market, or on XStreetSL, you will find a landmark to our main shop. Follow the landmark, find the "Golden Soshina" and enjoy your gift.

Tip: You can give the "Red Soshina" gift box to your friends and loved ones as a present. Not only will they enjoy the full permissions gift box, but they can take part in the hunt, too.

Note: Only the "Golden Soshina" contains a gift worth at least 500 L$.

Please do not tell anyone the location you found it... it's our little secret!

Hanami - Spring Festival

We would like to extend an invitation to you and your friends to attend our Hanami (花見, "flower viewing") festival.

Spring, and the cherry blossoms, is a much-loved time in Japan, so it gets celebrated in fine form! It will typically feature traditional dances, tea ceremonies, and celebation of mono no aware, the ephemeral nature of being alive.

The sakurazensen (桜前線) or blossom forecast looks particularly good this year in the Japan Kansai sim, and in Hosoi Mura preparations are underway to celebrate!

On Saturday 2 May at 3pm SLT, dancers from Yoshiwara and two other okiya (Painted Sea and Nakanoshima of Hosoi) will be performing on a wide stage. Using texts, music, sets and group dancing geisha, you can learn more on the spring and seasonal traditions in Real-Life Kyoto.

Please join us for this celebration. As always, if you have traditional japanese wear, it would help add to the atmosphere, but please do not feel obligated. If you would like to purchase a kimono (male or female), we suggest (of course!) the ones we sell. Check them out in this blog article.

We look forward to seeing you there. And don't forget: 花より団子 (hana yori dango)!

Update from masumi Manamiko:
"For technical unforseen reasons, the location of the spring festival show of today changed. It will be held at the kabuki theatre at Little Yoshiwara. Sorry for the little inconvenience."