My Sakura Collection

April’s Hello Japan! task is to celebrate spring, in particular the beloved sakura.

In the light of this month’s mini misson I thought it might be fun to share my ‘collection’ of sakura goodies.

It’s not a deliberate gathering of things decorated with Japanese cherry blossoms — I work in the museum field so there’s no need to collect anything myself ;) — but since I’m often seduced by cute sakura prints I seem to have acquired a few articles anyway ;)

So, about 2 weeks ago I gathered everything on the table and took a picture.

It was only after I had put this assortment away again that I remembered my favourite gift wrapping paper… and that I had forgotten to include the sakura chopsticks I recently posted about!

Furthermore my kawaii ice cubes, onigiri mold, food picks & the lovely textiles I fell for a while ago– the red one is going to be a small jacket for my usagi thermos; the pink may become a bento bag.

And what about the loads of origami paper I own? Only a selection is shown here.

You see? It really looks as if I’m unconsciously subconsciously collecting these things. I even excluded prints here in which cherry blossoms or sakura petals are just a small detail, like my usagi bento box and thermos. But I did allow myself to include round 5-petaled flowers and not just the characteristic heartshaped blossoms… I can’t help it: I just LOVE sakura!

For those of you who wonder where to get these treasures (I know I always do), I’ll provide a list! ;)

1. Transparant sakura gift bags from Etsy
2. First 2 tea containers (left) from Japan Market in Leiden
3. Other 2 tea tins from ’t Japanse Winkeltje (‘The Little Japanese Shop’) in Amsterdam
4. Cherry blossom body butter from The Body Shop
5. Embroidered furoshiki and handkerchief from eBay store
6. Bookmarks were a gift from tanabata (Hello Japan! about Kyoto temples)
7. White chopsticks were a hanami gift from Bento Babe
8. Gift wrap paper from V&D department store
9. Black chopsticks from toko Meltem on Botermarkt in Leiden
10. Ice cubes from HEMA department store
11. Onigiri mold from Toko Centraal on Achter Clarenburg in Utrecht
12. Food picks from eBay (part of a set)
13. Textile and some of the origami paper via Etsy (mostly Pixies Origami Store & This and That from Japan)
14. Other origimi sheets from several DIY and stationary shops

Do you have any themed collections?

Earlier this month I wrote a post about our hanami picnic under the cherry trees.

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Fun Fact about David Mitchell (Weekly Geeks 2010-5)

Did you know author David Mitchell collected dinosaur postcards as a child? He told us at the Amsterdam presentation of Cloud Atlas, in 2005.

I’m really looking forward to his new book, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, to be published in June this year. The Dutch translation De onverhoorde gebeden van Jacob de Zoet (which definitely is a less poetic title) is awaited in May/June.

Jacob de Zoet is a young Dutch clerk arriving in Japan in the summer of 1799, in the hope of making a fortune before returning to Holland to wed his fiancée. But then he meets the daughter of a Samurai…

Ooops, I’m too late for this weeks Weekly Geeks* about Author Fun Facts! Well, never mind ;)

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*Weekly Geeks was an inspirational event for the (book) blogging community, hosted by Dewey, originator of the 24 Hour Readathon, on Thursdays.