Check out my latest videos of Free Hugs in Tokyo. This is the latest one (at Meiji Jingu with Kokohana BGM):
This one is the "Christmas Time" video. Don't miss it!
Well, I already learned from 英語大好き@J-kunさん that the word "Friday" originated from a goddess in Greek mythology called Frejia (also spelled Freyja or Freya), which means "goodness." She was a goddess of love, fertility, and wealth. When she cried, her tears turned to gold. That is why Japan started using "kin" for Friday. 金曜日 （きんようび kinyoubi)
I received some more pictures from my teacher last night.
This is one of my teachers laughing at my first attempt at a horizontal line. I guess I went way too fast!
After a little instruction and guidance, I was able to slow down.
Here is another shot of the entire class after we chose our best one of the day:
May we all have a life filled with love and wealth!
In my Japanese class, I tried 書道（しょどう calligraphy）for the first time today. My theme this year is "money" (or to put it in a more spiritual term "abundance"). The character I wrote today is "kin" which means "gold" and is used in the word for money お金 (おかね okane, pronounced oh-ka-nay) and the word for Friday (金曜日、きんようび kinyoubi). I don't know why "kin" is used in the word for Friday. Perhaps people used to be paid weekly every Friday...Maybe someone out there could educate me.
Anyway, we all would like to have abundance in our lives--whether that is measured by the amount of love, quality of relationships, material things, or money.
So, this year, my goal is to make more money. I'd like to be able to afford to travel back and forth between America and Japan. I miss my family in Washington State, but I enjoy living and working here in Japan. I'd also like to be able to help others more than I can at the moment.
So, here is a picture of my first kanji I wrote (or painted) with a brush:
Not bad for the first time.
Here's a picture of the entire class:
Many of the students in my class are from China, so they had done this sort of thing before.
I enjoyed the experience a lot, and now I'd like to take a class in calligraphy. I think it might help me learn Japanese!
I thought I would remind everyone of just who Kokohana is.
They are two very talented and beautiful koto players. I wrote about them in a previous blog entry because I loved their music so much. That is why it was such an honor to use one of their songs for my Meiji Jingu video. Please visit their blog, and I know you will enjoy their music as much as I enjoy it.
Finally, I finished editing my Meiji Jingu video, and it's on YouTube now.
I went to Meiji Jingu shrine on January 3rd, and everyone was in a very happy mood. It's hard to tell sometimes: Was I giving hugs? Or was I receiving hugs?
And my boss said I was smiling too much and twirling too much. Well, I couldn't help but smile! Everyone was so happy!
Anyway, this video is much different from my first one! Check it out!
The music is great, isn't it? It fit so nicely with the "Happy New Year" feeling in the air that day.
