Help Japanese artist get honored in New York City

Japanese realist painter Samizu Matsuki is being honored in New York City on October 20th for being first woman ever inducted into the famous Salmagundi Art Club, nearly 40 years ago. Salmagundi Club membership is limited to greatest of realism artists painting in America. As one of the last survivors of the first group of women accepted into the Salmagundi Club, she is extremely honored by this opportunity.

Salmagundi Club website http://www.salmagundi.org

The event, “Pioneer Women: First Ladies of Salmagundi Club” is 6 to 8pm at the Salmagundi Art Club, located at 47 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

Please help Samizu, who is frail and very poor, and lives in Maine USA, raise $1,000 US to pay for travel for her and two paintings, to receive this honor, by visiting Samizu’s “kickstarter” fundraising page. Check out this link to Samizu Matsuki’s kickstarter page.

Samizu Matsuki’s gold medal winning triumph was for returning techniques of Western Classical Realist artistry, refined through generations of Japanese art schools, back to the West. This was in defiance of then-prevailing American fixation on abstract expressionism. Her work electrified enormous crowds who came to her exhibited works.

Matsuki’s meteoric flash was short lived. Failing health at end of the 1970s cut short her career, despite many offers of commissions and exhibitions. Yet during her brief intense career Samizu was like an artistic accupuncture needle, reopening long closed channels of creativity, playing a subtle yet critical role in re-establishing  the legitimacy of highly realistic oil painting in the 1970s American art scene.

Matsuki’s unique ‘magical realism’ style was also influenced by Setsuko Migishi at Joshibi University in Tokyo. Samizu is a 1958 graduate of Joshibi, then called Womens College of Fine Arts.

Why Japan is a great Destination for a Stag Do

The stag party is fast becoming a highly popular trend for soon to be grooms world-wide. What originated as a bachelor party night has transformed into a vacation or holiday for many wedding parties. If you’re looking to do something very unique for your stag do, consider traveling to an exotic locale in place of the more common norms. Taking your festivities to Japan will make an exciting trip that will never be forgotten by you or your guests. There are many fantastic ideas to creating an event to remember while in Japan, all you need is a little research before you book your tickets!

Bachelor party in Tokyo Japan

You can find many companies online that offer stag party planning for your group in other countries. Searching for a Japanese destination however, may be a little more difficult than you had bargained for. With Japanese culture being so different than western culture, the stag party hasn’t yet been made into a boxed event. However this can work in your favor! It will require a little more digging, but the advantage of doing it this way ensures that your guests have a one of a kind experience that is completely original!

Tokyo is a great place to either start your holiday, or as the city to base it in. One of Japans largest and oldest cities, you’ll find everything you need to make this stag do unforgettable. Consider having a karaoke party one evening. Karaoke is a huge smash in Japan, and there are many venues that host parties. You have two options when looking for a place to hold your karaoke night bash in Tokyo. The first is a large bar where everyone is free to participate. If you only have a few guests this might be a good option. You won’t need to rent the room, so you’ll be able to save some money here. The downside to this is that you’ll also be sharing the karaoke stand with other tourists and locals. This could be part of the charm for your group though!

Karaoke party night bachelor party idea

Your other option with a karaoke night is to visit what is called a “karaoke box”. These are bars that have many smaller rooms, and are available to rent. Individual parties have the option to rent one of these small karaoke rooms, and sing and party to your heart’s content! There will be other parties renting the other rooms, so there is still the ability to mingle with the local crowd while still keeping your guests entertained and active. Since it will only be your party in your room, there is no waiting for others to finish before your group can begin their fun!

Another must do while in Tokyo is seeing a Sumo match. This centuries old tradition in Japan will make a highly memorable night for your stag do, and allows you and your guests to witness something unique to Japanese culture. If you want your trip to focus on Japanese traditions, then you don’t want to miss this! Remember that in Japan, Sumo is highly respected as are the wrestlers. They are treated like royalty, and you should treat this event as the same! It wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn basic politeness and customs when planning your trip, and be sure to share these customs with your guests.

Sumo Wrestlers Bachelor Party Idea

In the mornings and early afternoons you’ll definitely want to treat your stag party guests to the exotic marketplaces you’ll find throughout the city. Don’t forget all the fine dining to be had while in Tokyo as well! Japanese chefs are famed throughout the world for their inspired and delicious creations, and no stag do would be complete without it!

Whatever events you decide to choose, a stag do in Japan is sure to be a hit! Plan a party that will be remembered as the greatest holiday ever and visit exotic Japan for your festivities!

Kokeshi Doll: A unique gift idea.

If you’re visiting Japan and want to return home with something special and unique to Japan besides chopsticks or a Japanese folding fan, you might consider buying a Kokeshi doll as a present for friends and family back home.

Mio Matsumura Loves Kokeshi Dolls

Mio Matsumura Loves Kokeshi Dolls

Check out this site if you want to know more about what a Kokeshi Doll is. Here’s a quick summary though – There are two main styles of Kokeshi dolls. One is the traditional style, the other is the creative style where the artist can show more expression in his creation.

Kokeshi Doll Artist Making One Big in Japan

This one is huge in Japan!

The traditional Japanese kokeshi dolls are often linked to an onsen within the Tohoku region of Japan. They are given the following types of names which are spot on or closely related to the onsen name: Tsuchiyu, Yajiro, Togatta, Naruko, Sakunami, Zao Takayu, Hijiori, Kijiyama, Nambu, and Tsugaru.

Kokeshi Doll Collection

Kokeshi Doll Collection

Cool Things to Check Out – Click it UP!

Here are some links I found pretty cool and wanted to pass along.

Here’s some cool rice paddy art. Way better than crop circles!

Some advice on studying Japanese. In the end, it’s all about what works best for you.

JPop group Perfume appeared live the other day, but what’s cool is they have a new single coming out in August.

The ANA Gundum plane looks a little boring. Maybe they’ll make a flashier design in the future.

Narita Sky is here! Get from Narita airport to Tokyo in 36 minutes (or your pizza is free!)

Make a hotel reservation in Japanese with this handy step by step guide.

My Sony Digital Camera – Only In Japanese

Did you know that Sony products in Japan don’t offer multiple languages? An employee at Bic Camera told me the menus and instructions are only in Japanese… AH HA! Maybe that’s why a lot of Sony products are cheaper than what I am used to in America!

I just bought a Sony DSC-T70. Mainly because it’s small, it’s fast, it has internal zoom, and I’m satisfied with the image quality. The menu is pretty slick. There are nice icons, lots of Katakana, and I also downloaded the English manual form Sony’s website. All it took to get used to it was going through the settings, reading the Katakana, and memorizing a little of the manual. Now I’m golden and I’ve saved about $50. I mean… um… ¥5000…

If you’re interested in this camera:
You can download the English manual and get specs here.
You can read a review here.

And here’s a nice hands on review.

Finding a barber shop

One of the easiest things to find in Japan is a barber shop or hair salon. Barber shops have the old school barber pole in front. Hair salons usually are bright, or trendy, or they have a person outside handing out flyers. I live downtown and a haircut is costs 4000-5000 Yen for men which is a pretty high price for me because I have short hair. I did some exploring and within a 12 minute walk I found a salon for 2800 Yen. Still kind of pricey, but the service is excellent. I did even more exploring and 20 minutes away I found one for 1000 Yen. They’re fast, efficient, and inexpensive which is nice. The more expensive salons take 60-90 minutes to cut my hair because they’re doing it with scissors most of the time and cutting little by little (and that’s fine, because you can always cut shorter but you can’t put it back on!). Here’s a picture outside of my favorite discount barber shop. It seats 3 people inside.

barber shop in japan

barber shop in japan

I thought I took a picture of a salon, but I can’t find it. So here’s a repost from my salon that failed post.

Ball Hair salon in Japan

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