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A Family Birthday with Nerikiri — and the Meaning of Hōzuki during Obon
Recently, a family from Frankfurt visited me for a private nerikiri workshop during their stay in Düsseldorf. It was a particularly special occasion: their son’s birthday. Instead of choosing a typical birthday activity, they wanted to try something new together and experience a small part of Japanese culture. For the workshop, I had prepared four…
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Obijime Guide: Rules, Formality & Styling Explained
Obijime may look like a small detail, but they have an important role in kimono dressing. With otaiko musubi, the obijime passes through the inside of the obi and helps hold the lower part of the shape in place. It prevents the tare — the hanging end of the obi — from falling down. So…
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How Long Does It Take to Learn Kitsuke?
“How long does it take to learn?” It’s one of the questions I get the most. And I understand why. From the outside, kitsuke often looks either very simple or impossibly complicated. The truth is somewhere in between. It doesn’t take as long as people think. But it also doesn’t work without structure. My own…
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Kashiwa Mochi and Children’s Day in Japan
In early May, a very specific sweet starts to appear across Japan: kashiwa mochi. At first glance, it looks simple — a piece of soft mochi filled with sweet red bean paste and wrapped in a large oak leaf. But like many seasonal foods in Japan, it carries a deeper meaning tied to tradition, family,…
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Trying on a Kurotomesode
Germany has started to get warmer, so I recently switched my closet to hitoe and summer kimono. Every year I notice the same thing—I probably own more summer kimono than I actually wear. While reorganizing, I decided to try on a kurotomesode that was passed down to me from my husband’s grandmother. It has the…
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Matcha Workshop in Düsseldorf: A More Traditional Approach
This workshop is shaped by over three years of studying Japanese tea ceremony (Urasenke), and I have received the permission (konarai) to continue my practice within this tradition. Matcha has become very popular in recent years. You see it everywhere — in cafés, desserts, and drinks often labeled as “ceremonial grade.”But in many cases, the…
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What is Sakura Mochi? A Spring Sweet from Japan
Sakura mochi (桜餅) is a traditional Japanese sweet that quietly announces the arrival of spring.If you’ve ever seen a soft pink rice cake wrapped in a cherry blossom leaf, you’ve already encountered it — even if you didn’t know its name. In Japan, sakura mochi appears around the time cherry blossoms begin to bloom. It…