Cream Stew ★★★

I cooked cream stew tonight.

I put a lot of vegetables in it, so it's healthy for its calorie!

This is one of my repertoires. I cook it nearly once a month,

because I can enjoy leftovers!

The recipe is so simple. I love easy cooking!

Actually, I like beef stew better though.

Ukiyo-e’s Contribution to Monet’s Great Works

Claude Monet, one of the greatest impressionists, left many works including a series of “Water Lily” under the influence of Japanese woodblock prints called Ukiyo-e. This can be proved by the fact that he was deeply committed to collecting Ukiyo-e works by the grate Japanese masters, Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro and so on.

Ukiyo-e was first introduced to Europe at the international exhibition of London in1862 and of Paris in 1878. Then, there was a Japanese boom called Japonism in which many painters in the 19th century were influenced by Japanese prints and paintings. Like many others, Monet soon became obsessed with the sensation because the artists of the Far East were taking a completely new approach toward art. In particular, the flat and asymmetrical composition of Ukiyo-e was breaking the Western painting convention. As Monet later described, Japanese art shaped his style and the way he saw the world around him.

The best examples of his obsession with Ukiyo-e are his Giverny home and garden. Giverny is a suburb of Paris with many beautiful lakes and the place where Monet surrounded himself with the collected Ukiyo-e works and continued creative activities until he died at the age of 86. He planted water lilies and wisteria flowers and then built the arched bridge called “Taiko-bashi” in the garden to replicate Hiroshige’s world. To draw his inspiration from the garden, he gathered various kinds of trees, grasses and flowers and planted them by himself. He also created three greenhouses and hired six gardeners to keep it beautiful.

Moreover, his passion toward Ukiyo-e extended to the interiors like kitchen, dining room and even bathroom by coordinating the color of the interior with that of the Ukiyo-e works. Now you can visit Monet’s house in Giverny to see both his wonderful Ukiyo-e collections and his ideal garden.
A series of “Water Lily” was born here in Giverny. Monet made every effort to express the color of the flowers subtly changing with sunlight and varying with weather and season, so his garden was often compared to a living canvas or a living atelier which focused on the very moment of the changes in nature. In fact, this was exactly the one that Monet would like to express.
In this way, Ukiyo-e aroused Monet’s imagination and enabled him to leave many great masterpieces. Although he never visited Japan, it could be said that Japanese art significantly contributed to his works beyond the sea. Moreover, they still attract many admirers all over the world. Especially, Japan has a lot of Monet’s fans and it is because there is such a strong relationship between Monet and Japanese art.

LOC CITY

When I went back to my hometown last weekend,

I stopped by a shopping mall named "Loc City" which

name seemed strange to me.

However, I suddenly realized that "Loc" was

an abbreviation for local.

Everything there is cheaper than that in Tokyo,

so I couldn't help buying something on impulse.

My mother and I had Tan-men at a cafeteria there

and it was so good!!

The taste reminded her of Tanmen she liked to eat

at her favorite ramen shop when she was an office

worker about 40 years ago!!

So, I'm sure she will try that again!!

Dee-Dee Part2

Dee-Dee'd appeared in my blog again!! I'd really like you to see her cute shots.

My mam is taking me for a walk, but I'm too tired to walk anymore.

I love to take a nap. Every time my mam leaves me alone, I enjoy sleeping and relaxing with a friend of mine!!

Kamakura Tour ②

After we moved to Hase by Eno-den , we walked to Hase temple and then to Kotoku-shrine. Hase temple is famous for the statue of the Kannon deity and for the beautiful command of Yuigahama.　While watching the view, we enjoyed having Japanese cake with Matcha at the cafe there. Then, we visited Kotoku-shrine to see Big Buddha which was a symbol of　Kamakura. I found many foreigners taking pictures of it eagerly.　Maybe, the statue is very unique and totally different from the one in European style.　We got tired from walking all day, but I think we also had a chance to get good exercise!!

American Presidential Ellection!!

Barack Obama won the American presidential election today.

I was very impressed by his victory speech and the fact that

many white people voted for him.

I watched the news all day and was excited to see the moment

when the African American first became the American president.

I believe that the United States has made progress for "New America" without racial inequality and hope that President Obama will make it possible to change the country as he says " Yes, we can!!"

Kamakura Tour ①

I went to Kamakura with my sister and niece on Saturday.

As it is called "Little Kyoto", Kamakura has many temples and shrines with a long history.

First, we dropped off the train at Kita-Kamakura station and walked to Enkaku-ji、Kencho-ji and then to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.

Enkaku-ji was erected by Tokimune Hojo and is famous for its magnificent gate. We had a lunch box I made there. It was fairly good.

Next, I took a picture of the gate of Kencho-ji, but we gave up visiting the temple for saving time. Then we visited Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine. It was the time of the Seven-Five-Three Festival which is held to celebrate children's growth and to pray for their future good health.

I very much enjoyed seeing many boys and girls wearing beautiful kimonos!! I also consulted an oracle (Omikuji) there. Lucky me!! I drew a good fortune (Kichi)(^0^)v