Literacy with Japanese 9

 

                This time I read らっかせいは　おもしろい。With starting with the cover I have to assume this is about Peanuts because of the photo used.  The first page of the book shows the same photo on the cover. After reading through I can't understand what it's speaking about. Though I know the top half of the page is a question cause of the addition of a question mark. The second page shows a seed in dirt with the date May 22nd listed. I think they're recording about growing a peanut plant. The third page shows the plant being watered and uses the kanji for water. The fourth page it shows a sprout raising from the soil and lists May 29th as the day reading the hiragana, I think it's just saying it rose or it's alive. We jump further ahead and go into June 11th, I'm unsure as to what it says but it shows a photo of the plant branching out. Hitting June 25th, it says the plant has grown and become bigger. In the next few pages, it shows the flowers being alive and then being dead, and it looks like they're going towards the ground. September 20th shows someone digging up the plant and you have peanuts. This reading was a lot harder for me as I barely understood anything. The photos helped me the best, though reading out what was on the page was interesting. This was one of my first readings that had longer sentences. 

Literacy with Japanese 8

 

                This time I read ははのひ。In the beginning it shows two little girls looking up at a calendar, and they have a thought bubble with a woman in it. Knowing from the cover I assume that woman is their mother. I think it's their mother because the title has はは。Though I'm not sure what event it could be that is dated on the calendar. I think maybe her birthday. The girls then talk to their father about buying something and he gives them money. In the next page it shows him hiding behind an electric pole while the girls are walking to the flower store. With the father hiding behind an electric pole, I think the girls wanted to go without him or they asked him to let them go alone. Which I can't comprehend doing that in America, but Japan I wonder if that's common for kids to go alone especially with a sibling.  They go to the flower store and point out red and pink flowers, I assume the speech is possibly what the girls each think their mother would like. The father shows back up behind the pole as the girls end up going to the cake store and get a cake. They then go back home where the dad gives a sigh of relief (possibly them making it home safe.) They then are sitting at a table with paper on it, which makes me think they're making a card. The cards I wasn't expecting to have been then made into Origami. The next page is them shouting something at their mother, which one of the words is Thank you which makes me think this is Mother's Day than her birthday. I didn't know that Mother's Day was celebrated in Japan. I found it funny at the end the father is looking at the calendar which I assume is him counting out when Father's Day is coming. 

My Nengago

 

            When learning what a Nengago was I was surprised to see what they were. I know they're not that common for Americans. I know a lot of Americans send out a Christmas/Holiday card but not a New Year's card. However, I find it super interesting that they send out New Year's cards that have more of a graphic of the animal rather than a photo of your family. I also find it super interesting how many companies cater to Japanese culture by being more print-oriented rather than American which is very digitalized and more online-based.

            Before this Nengago project, I was working in a collaborative pair for a swap-a-thon, which is swapping a piece of work between the two of you multiple times. In one of the swaps, I had a spur-of-the-moment idea to do a green Chinese dragon flying. This made me think of the idea I wanted for the Nengago to be the same dragon. Also in Jan's Asian ceramics history class, we learned a lot about the Chinese dragon and how it was pictured. I remember seeing a lot of serious ideas surrounding the Chinese dragon and the dragon never really being playful. The green dragon I made for the swap-a-thon project was more of a "what if the dragon wasn't serious?" This made me think of a relaxing Dragon. But what was he relaxing with? I'm subscribed to one artist that I really enjoy and they made a daily vlog about their journey importing a Kotatsu and putting it together. It made me think about a dragon (whose body isn't made for a Kotatsu) chilling under one eating some food. The food I wanted to base off of Osechi Ryori. The main photo of Osechi Ryori I found while googling was a bowl dish similar to ramen though it had less broth in it. Though it may not be as noticeable in my piece, I like the idea of it being an easter egg for myself. 

            I'm really happy with the outcome of my Nengago and enjoy the simplistic form it takes.