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Saturday, October 24 (archive)

Today in Japan

Watercolor of a Java sparrow perched on a hand, everyday folk craft pottery, a bamboo basket and indigo cloth, animation film with a gentleman thief silhouette, and La France pears

What day is it?

  1. Java Sparrow Day文鳥の日

    The Java sparrow, or buncho, is a small bird with a red beak, and it has been kept as a pet in Japan since the Edo period. October 24th is Java Sparrow Day because 10-2-4 can be read as "te ni shiawase," or "happiness in your hand." It fits the season, too. Late October is when hand-raised chicks start to appear in pet shops.

  2. 1936年The Japan Folk Crafts Museum opens日本民藝館が開館

    On October 24th, 1936, the Japan Folk Crafts Museum opened in Komaba, Tokyo. Its first director was Yanagi Muneyoshi, who led the mingei, or folk craft, movement. He believed that plain bowls, baskets and cloth made by unknown craftspeople for daily use could be just as beautiful as famous works of art. The museum is still open today.

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  3. 1971年Lupin the Third first airs on TVテレビアニメ『ルパン三世』の放送開始

    On October 24th, 1971, the first Lupin the Third TV series started airing on Sunday evenings. It is based on a manga by Monkey Punch about a gentleman thief who is said to be the grandson of Arsene Lupin from French novels. It was made with adult viewers in mind, which was unusual for TV anime back then. The series is still loved more than fifty years later.

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If someone asks you

Q

What's so special about mingei? They just look like ordinary bowls.

A

That's actually the point. Mingei means folk crafts, things made by unknown craftspeople for everyday use. In the 1920s, Yanagi Muneyoshi and his friends argued that these plain, practical things have a quiet kind of beauty. You don't keep them in a glass case. You use them every day, and they look better the more you use them.

In season La France pears ラ・フランス La France is a European pear, and Yamagata Prefecture grows more of it than anywhere else in Japan. It's picked in October while it's still hard, and it has to sit for a while before it becomes soft, juicy and sweet. It's best when the skin near the stem gives a little when you press it gently. Don't judge by the color, because it stays green even when ripe.
Micro-season 52 of 72 霜始降しもはじめてふる First Frost Falls The first frost of the year appears in the mountains and on northern fields. Farmers race to bring in what is left before it hits the crops.

Phrase of the day

These are everyday dishes. We use them every day.

Sentence of the day

October 24th is a day for small joys: a little bird that sits in your hand, a bowl made for everyday use, and a cartoon thief who has stayed popular for more than fifty years. Each one shows a different side of what people in Japan have loved.

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Sources

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