今週はお茶所として有名な福岡県の八女で紙漉き体験を行いました。
伝統的な和紙の作り方や、八女の日本文化にも触れてより日本のことが理解できたようですよ♪
On June 6th we went to Yame city to see how Japanese traditional paper is made.
The whole trip may take a while if departing from Hakata station, but I think it is worth it, especially for those who have never experienced something like that, as it was for me.
Yame is a quiet town and, even if it isn’t all that big, it has a lot of Japan history and traditions in it.
So, we first went to Yame Cultural and Traditional Crafts Museum to try making in person some examples of Japanese paper. The process was actually very easy to follow and the final product really nice: we made some bookmarks and postcards, that we’d been able to customize as we liked using for example dried flowers. The paper seems rustic, as it is kind of uneven and unrefined; but I think this is exactly what makes it so unique.
While we were waiting for the paper to dry out, we visited the adjacent rooms full of famous Yame crafts. We could admire some example of bamboo-made goods and utensils; beautiful paper lanterns (some were huge); arrows and arches; Japanese Hina dolls. But for me the most incredible crafts were the Buddhist altars. Some were bigger, other smaller, but they are all so refined and full of details that one can’t help but be amazed.
After that, we also saw an example of Japanese puppet theatre.
We also had the opportunity to buy some of the local green tea, since Yame is well known for its tea, too.
As for the other activities, I really enjoyed this one, since once again I could get in touch with the Japanese culture.
6月6日にどう和紙をすくために、八女市に行きました。
博多駅から出発すれば時間が少しかかりますが、こんな体験をしたことがなかったら絶対に価値があります。
八女市は静かな町であまり大きくなくても、日本歴史と伝統が多いです。
まずは、個人的に和紙をすくのに八女伝統工芸館に行きました。作り方は簡単です。例えばドライフラワー、好きな飾りつけを選んで、はがきを2枚とブックマーク4枚作りました。作った和紙の格好は平らではなくて粗いかもしれませんが、どうして和紙がユニークか、これも理由の一つだと思います。
次に、和紙が乾いている間、館内も見学しました。展示品や催し物がたくさん見えました。例えば竹細工、美しいちょうちん、弓と矢、ひな人形とひな壇。でも、一番すごい工芸品は仏壇だと思います。大きくても小さくても、全部詳しくできて驚かないわけにはいきません。
それから、人形浄瑠璃の舞台も見ました。
最後に、八女市のお茶も有名なので、緑茶が買えました。
ほかのアクティビティと同じ、この体験も本当におもしろかったです。理由はもう一度知らなかった日本伝統が習えたことです。
