Junichi Nakahara exhibition

Hello dear readers! How are you?

The good weather is continuing! I hope it is nice where you are too.

Today I'll show you a couple of pictures from the Junichi Nakahara exhibition I went to last month in Yokohama.

I love Mr Nakahara's work and I have written about him before. Though best known for his illustration, he was talented in many areas and this exhibition commemorating 100 years since his birth showed that in abundance.

It was held in the Sogo Museum of Art (where I went to the Marie Antoinette exhibition last year) and there were displays throughout the department store. This one featured two dresses made to his designs.

The exhibition hall itself was packed with his work- from his magazines (such as Himawari), to his fashion designs for women and children, also his dolls, storybook illustrations, and even his interior design work. This cute and airy model room looks like it is straight out of one of his pictures. 

This was one of the best exhibitions I have ever seen. Although the scope of his work was huge it didn't feel tiring to see it all. Although his work is stylised it is possible to see the changing fashions as they would have really been worn throughout the decades. I feel that he had a real sympathy for women and a sensitive observation for everything that made up their lifestyle. He had a vision of beauty that was clean and stylish and yet sweet and nostalgic too. 

I enjoyed the visit even more because I went with a dear friend who loves him just as much as me! We finished the day with tea and cake, a lovely finish to a lovely day.

If you would like to see this exhibition you still have four days, so hurry hurry!

More details here.

Now then, I'd better get back to packing for this weekend. I am attending Austen and the Abbey, a lolita event in Warwickshire. If you are coming, please look out for me and say hello! I'm very excited, because I'll be modelling for Victorian Maiden and fairy wish and also in the Mori Girl fashion show. When I'm not doing that, I'll be wearing boystyle for the first time in years!

Thanks for reading and hope to see you there!

Sapphira

横浜人形の家 Yokohama Doll Museum

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Today I'm going to share some photos from my visit to the Yokohama Doll Museum. I found out about it by chance wandering around Yokohama one year ago, but on that occasion it was closed! I'm glad I managed to make it back there in a day it was actually open.

First of all, here's my outfit:

Headbow: Ange

Cutsew: axes femme

Jumperskirt: Innocent World

Bag: Metamorphose

Others: Offbrand

My petticoat looks so flat again! It seemed fine in the morning....

I feel like this outfit is a bit different from my usual style, perhaps the colour combination and the cardigan? But I'm pleased with how it turned out! 

Being a port, Yokohama has an interesting history of cultural exchange with foreign countries. The first exhibit we came across was a doll illustrating a sad little story from Yokohama's history- the little girl with red shoes. 

She was a girl from Shizuoka whose mother gave her to be adopted by American missionaries, thinking this was the best thing for her. They took her to Yokohama in order to travel overseas, but before they left they discovered she had tuberculosis, and she died without leaving Japan. Her mother didn't know this but went on thinking about and sadly missing her daughter.

You can read more about it here:

http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/japan/attractions/AkaiKutsu.htm

A song that was composed about her going away in her pretty red shoes is a very well known nursery rhyme in Japan (it's the first song in this video). 

Well, on to happier things! The next room was dolls from around the world. It seems like every civilisation that there has ever been has made dolls, and there were cases and cases of dolls from Japan alone, all of them varied and reflecting the different regions where they were made.

Apparently this one is the Japanese version of me!

We certainly have similar legs.

I really loved the Thai dolls! Thai costumes are so beautiful and I love the elegant way they turn out their hands and feet. I want to visit Thailand some day!

On the next floor there were Japanese dolls on one side and European dolls on the other. This pretty doll was very interesting, because though she is Japanese she was made using French doll-making techniques. I really like her cute expression and her elegant height and slim figure. She's wearing an outfit for a particular dance which I've forgotten at the moment!

There was also a Japanese doll's house with such cute accessories! I have a doll's house at home that I'm still working on (I will take pictures sometime) and now I really want this Japanese one. Just look at all the perfect little plates and cups and squids!

On the European side, there were some examples of automata. I'm really interested in them but they are quite rare so there's not often a chance to see them. They had a couple here and they also had videos of them in motion. This writing pierrot was my favourite!

He was very lifelike and very dainty at the same time. There was also a dancing Rococco couple but they just turned round and round and made you giddy.

This last case showed the difference betwen the way that Japanese dolls and European bisque dolls are made. Both girls are very cute! I was suprised to learn that the Japanese dolls usually have human hair. There are some creepy stories about the hair continuing to grow....

As we left the museum, there were a few more things on display,  dolls that have been made very recently. I liked this one because he reminds me of Közi!

 Well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the pictures! I think this museum is well worth a visit. Hina Matsuri is coming up next month, so it seems like the perfect time to go!

See you next time,

Sapphira

Lolita Trip to Yokohama (part the second)

Hello readers! It's time for the second installment of the Yokohama trip.

After the exhibition, we visted the Yamate district. Regular readers might recall that I went to the same area earlier this year, and I really recommend it! 

On this day, we visited one of the buildings I didn't go to before, Bluff 18 Ban-Kan.

There was a wedding fair being held inside, so there were a lot of lovely floral arrangements displayed.

These remind me a little of my outfit that day!

A cosy looking room....

We took outfit shots in the house, but we had to wear slippers inside!

After that, we walked down the famous Motomachi Street. That area had a big boom during the Showa era, and there are many foreign shops and boutiques located there which you won't come across elswhere in Japan. 

To be honest, it was such a strange feeling walking that street! The style of the buildings and the names of the shops were in many cases identical to ones in England. I felt as if I was walking down an ordinary English high street on a Saturday afternoon. Except all the shoppers were Japanese!!

They have Next! I never thought I'd see that in Japan....

A mock-Tudor building, what could be more ordinarily English?

It was great to visit somewhere outside of Tokyo for a change, I had a great day with the other lolis!

We took purikura after returning to Tokyo.

Thanks for a lovely day, everyone!

Sapphira

xxxx

Lolita Trip to Yokohama (part the first)

Hello readers! I'm going to split my photos from last weekend's outing into two posts, so here is the first:

So, last weekend, the Tokyo International Lolitas travelled to Yokohama to see an exhibition about the life of Marie Antoinette. Here's our group!

Many thanks to Sarah for the photo! I loved her tricorn hat and perfectly rococo hairstyle <3

The exhibition was very nice indeed, with a varied selection of things related to the queen, including portraits of her family, prints and engravings recording events of the time, small items like jewelery boxes and watch chains, some rather puzzling 'almanach des erotiques chantantes' (something like that) and some gorgeous reproduction dresses, which we were allowed to take photos of. I'll share them here!

I want to make this dress! The embroidery and textile work was so detailed and interesting.

An "English style" dress. Much more subdued and dignified compared to the other dresses on show. I can imagine wearing it quite comfortably. I'll take it!

Chemise a la Reine. I based my outfit on this style (see below). Marie Antoinette requested 'something simple' to wear at her retreat, Petit Trianon, and her dressmaker came up with this. At first people were shocked at such unqueenly attire (it looks a bit like 18th century underwear or 'chemise', which is how it got it's name) but the style really caught on and was worn throughout Europe. I absolutely love it! I'll take one of these too~

Super duper fancy dress! I could not fit in my apartment if I wore it :(

Now I'll show you my outfit:

Inspired by the chemise a la reine, I went for a pink and white colour scheme. My make-up is pink too, and I pencilled on a couple of beauty spots. Rococo ladies used to stick on silk ones, called mouches. I think I read somewhere that they also stuck on eyebrows made of mouse skin, but don't quote me on that one....

Full outfit:

~Rundown~

Headdress, onepiece: Handmade

Others: Offbrand and vintage

Here's a close-up of my headdress. I like the little spray of pearls! I can feel them waving about when I walk, haha.

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Look out for part two, coming soon~

Sapphira

xxxx

Culture Clashes in Yokohama

Hello dear readers!

Today's post is another installment of my travel adventures, this time to Yokohama.

The day started well with a most excellent sleep on the train from Tokyo! I'd been sleeping quite badly around that time, which is most usual for me as I'm generally liable to fall asleep as soon as I stop moving.

The first place we went was Chinatown. Yokohama's Chinatown is the biggest in Japan, and in fact Yokohama (being a port) has a long history of cultural exchange with foreign nations.

I was very excited to see this Rocky Horror poster outside one of the restaurants! I'd love to see it in Japanese.

We had lunch at a famous Chinese restaurant. I liked the grand, heavy Chinese furniture a lot. Unfortunately I was less impressed by the food. I hoped it was a one off experience but I met up with a friend from Singapore later on, and she mentioned that Chinese food in Japan was pretty awful. I would always believe a Singaporean about food, so I'd advise just soaking up the bustling atmosphere in Chinatown. Unfortunately for me that involved being hooted at by a teenage chesnut seller! In general you don't experience those sort of things (which are a regular occurence in England) when wearing Lolita in Japan. Still, these things are to expected and I enjoyed my little visit to Chinatown nonetheless.

The next place we went was very lovely- the Yamate district. This is a hilly area where many foreigners lived from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s, in grand Western-style buildings. These buildings have been restored and are open to public viewing free of charge.   

The first one we visited was the Diplomat House. It was built by an American architect in the American Victorian style. I think this was my favourite one of all!

Although it is ostensibly Western-style, I detected a bit of Japanese taste too. In fact the diplomat who lived there with his family was Japanese.

This display of children's things was so cute! The pine decorations are for new year.

A view of the ornamental garden and the rest of Yokohama. Being so high up, the views and the air are lovely. I would have liked to be the ojousama of this house!

Next we took a short walk to Berrick Hall in Motomachi park. The houses are grouped in various parks close to each other, and since the area is very pleasant there are plenty of nice things to see on your way. 

Berrick Hall is the biggest of these residences. It's a Spanish-style mansion that was built for a British trader. By the way, please excuse my funny green slippers in these photos! No outside shoes are allowed in these houses.

Berrick Hall was also used as a boarding house for one of the nearby private schools. Sadly the school was closed in the 1990s. There is some school memorabila displayed about the place, but the restoration has been so complete that I couldn't imagine what it must have been like as a boarding house. I think that's a bit of a shame! 

I want a dress in this lovely deep teal-green colour!

The nursery room. I think Mr Berrick had a son? It was a very sweet, airy little room.

This is one of the buildings we saw on our walk. It's so cute isn't it? It reminds rather of Austrian houses. We also passed the Sacred Heart Cathedral and Christian cemeteries. 

Finally we went to the biggest park, Harbour View Park, where we had tea in the Rose Garden Cafe in the basement of the British House.   

This cafe specialises in rose desserts and drinks. The drinking water we were served tasted of roses! I had the rose roll cake, and my companion had the rose chiffon cake. Both were very nice, with a natural rose taste, not too sickly sweet.  The waitresses had old fashioned aprons trimmed with lace, and attached to the cafe was a very adorable gift shop selling rose goods. 

We also met this pretty cat enjoying the afternoon sun. She miaowed at me but was far too comfortable to get up. 

I had a wonderful time in Yokohama, I really like that city! I'd like to spend more time there in the future. Next time I'd like to visit the Doll Museum, which unfortunately was closed that day. I've heard there's a cat museum and a curry museum too! 

The best thing I saw was the mix of cultures. What I admire most about Japan is it's abilty to absorb influences from all over the world and from that produce something uniquely Japanese. Lolita fashion is a perfect example of this, I feel.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

Sapphira

xxxxx