There's a celebration in Japan that is knock-your-socks-off amazing. It heralds the most amazing natural transformation in an already beautiful place of outstanding natural beauty. For a short while, it seems you really can step into the pages of a fairy tale!
I adore celebrations like this! In fact, I make a point of ensuring that festivals, parties, and celebrations feature heavily in my novels - shall we start a tradition of celebrating Shadowtide? Anyone? Well, today I celebrated the Blossom Festival of Japan - honestly my favorite culture, with a massive projects of design and artwork numbering no less than thirty-one items in total!
I have learned two things about my little celebration. Firstly, there is a very good reason that no one in their right mind would do a product launch with over thirty moving parts on their own; it is absolutely MAD - lessons have been learned. Secondly, trying to boil down all the things that I love about the Blossom Festival into thirty-odd items is impossible! In the end, I boiled it down into three main spheres of interest: Sakura Flowers, Butterflies, and the Japanese fetish for cute, fluffy, Kawaii things.
Now, I know that doesn't even touch the surface of the culture and I have no intention of insulting anyone. Goodness knows that the Japanese aesthetic has been heavily romanticized in recent years and I love it! So, for the last couple of days, I have been walking the streets, pressing friends into delivery service, and handing out leaflets to promote the hell out of the biggest launch day so far themed entirely around a highly suspect version of Japanese culture but one that is by now so prolific, it's what we all think of.
Does that make me a bit of a fraud? I would understand if you felt it did. The fact is, I am not Asian, nor do I have a single milliliter of Asian blood inside me. I don't live in Japan and I probably never will. But, I love cherry blossom, I love making people feel happy with cute critters, and I love the mystery of the exotic, so I guess this is my little celebration of those good things and sharing it with others. Maybe we should think of another name for it, any suggestions?
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