13th entry - Japanese Kimono

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with Japanese culture both old and new...


From the pink cherry blossom
(sakura) in Spring and Hokkaido lavender fields in Summer, to the crimson Japanese maple leaves in Autumn and snow-frosted juniper bonsai in Winter.

From sushi (rice) and sashimi (raw food) to takoyaki (octopus balls) and okonomiyaki (pancake with egg, vegetables and tons of bonito flakes) to ebi tempura (deep-fried prawn or shrimp) and cha soba (green-tea infused into buckwheat noodles)


From geisha strumming their shamizen (3-string lute) or koto (Jap zither) and performing fan/umbrella dances to samurai/ninja killing each other with katana (Jap sword)/shuriken (throwing knives)


From Japanese anime to TV drama/variety shows


From trendy J-pop/rock (e.g. Ayumi Hamazaki) and Cos-play to traditional enka and Jap classical tunes and kimono


I also love the woody decor of country-side, traditional Jap houses with tatami mats and sliding doors, and best of all the hot spring baths or onzens


Among the items mentioned above, I am most fascinated with the elegant kimono, the iconic traditional clothing (wafuku) of the Japanese people.

Kimono dates back to 800AD, but as I learnt from several websites, Japanese people have gradually simplified and adapted its style and design through the years. The kimono known to have remained till today was developed during the Edo period (1600-1868) - consisting of a number of robes secured finally with a sash (obi). A typical woman's kimono consists of twelve or more separate pieces that are worn, matched and secured in prescribed ways (apparently having symbolic meanings). There are also different kimono for different important occasions or stages in a woman's life:

1) Furisode - Young girls and unmarried women wear this type of kimono, featuring long sleeves that sometimes reach the ankles and appearing in vibrant colors rich with patterns. Both traditional silk fabrics as well as polyester are popular but the latter is much more afforable.

2) Tomesode - Elderly women or those who have married, wear this kimono with shorter sleeves. Designs are more elegant, and tones more muted. Variations of tomesode are worn for different occasions: the Houmongi (訪問着), a formal attire usually for attending weddings or parties; the Kurotomesode (黒留袖), the most formal dress worn only by mothers at their childrens' weddings; and the Iromuji (色無地), a mono-chrome dress worn for tea ceremonies (Chado/Sado) and flower-arrangement classes (Ikebana).

3) Yukata - made of cotton-fabric, this form is often worn in Summer and tend to be more brightly colored and come in short sleeves. Japanese hotels sometimes offer the cheaper (thinner) versions as gifts for their guests, and they come in especially handy for visiting onsens.

4) Mofuku - an all-black kimono worn at funerals

5) Uchikake - the wedding silk kimono is an extremely long and ornate robe, usually with auspicious motifs and heavy brocade. An obi is not tied around this kimono as it is meant to be an overcoat.

6) Susohiki (or Hikizuri) - worn by geisha or by stage performers of traditional Japanese dances. This kimono is the longest of all and the skirt is supposed to trail along the floor (Susohiki literally means "trail the skirt"). A normal kimono for women is normally 1,5-1,6 m or 4,7-5,2 ft long, while a susohiki can be up to 2 m or 6,3 ft long.

For more information:
Wikipedia offers great insight into the different types of kimono and associated garments.
Japan Zone offers a nice pictorial history and other useful information about the kimono.
Japan Lifestyle and Go Japan also offer information on other aspects of Japanese culture.

Hope

After writing about the suffering I experienced from chicken pox, I reflected further and realised that my pain was really nothing compared to what many others have to endure for much longer periods. Like...

1) People with cancer, AIDS and other chronic illnesses who are battling within their bodies a real and intense physical agony, ten or perhaps hundreds of times worse than mine, and trying to overcome the psychological fear of dying anytime, losing everything precious to them...

2) People facing daily acts of violence, persecution and harassment due to systematic gender/ racial/ religious/ ethnic discrimination, or war/terrorism or even crime, who live in constant fear of what would come their way...

3) People whose children or loved ones are missing for days, followed by months and then years, waiting for the tiniest bit of news of their loved ones' whereabouts - or at least of their confirmed deaths - and even entertaining cruel prank calls or cheats trying to take advantage of their plight...

Perhaps the worse of the lot above are those without any Hope. For someone without Hope, being alive would be worse than being dead. In the anime, Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl), many who are living in a state of despair seek to be avenged from those wronged them, but they know they will eventually pay the price by also being sent to hell when they die eventually.

In the anime Snow Queen, the lead character Gerda discovered in her adventures that it was important to have Hope. She met a little girl suffering from a chronic illness, and wanted to help her get well. The girl's mother already lost hope after hearing the doctor say that the girl's days were numbered; of course, the girl didnt know that she was dying, as her mother had no heart to tell her the truth.

One day the girl told Gerda that she had planted some snow peas in a planter box and wanted to see them sprout in Spring. She said her mother told her that in Spring little shoots would emerge from the soil, and she loved to see snow peas grow and pop in Autumn as they ripen. Little did she know that the peas that she had planted were cooked, and her mother had lied to her to give her something to look forward to.

In order not to disappoint the little girl, Gerda searched high and low for live snow peas and planted them secretly in the same planter box. As the snow of Winter melted, little snow pea shoots sprouted from the planter box, and the little girl began to miraculously recover as well. Her mother who didnt know what Gerda did also thought it was a miracle and found new hope and strength to continue taking care of her daughter.

Indeed, Hope is very powerful. I personally believe it is a gift from God to help us overcome our problems in life. The saying goes, "All is lost without hope." Of course, hope can be abused as well. For instance, the chronic gambling addicts are deceived by a false sense of "hope" to continually lose their hard-earned money to the casinos. Members of doomsday cults and extremist-terrorist groups are misguided by twisted-minded leaders of a "hope" of a better tomorrow once their enemies are eradicated. A perhaps less negative example is the "miracles" that beauty products and exotic health supplements promise to give anyone who consume them, albeit at ridiculous prices. These examples exploit human weaknesses (greed/ vanity/ ignorance) and use false Hope as a disguise to lure the guileless.

I truly believe that genuine Hope can make our lives better. Without Hope, man could never have built airplanes or invented electricity. Many life-saving medicines and medical treatments would never be discovered. Without Hope, many people would have chosen to end their lives in desperation, pain and sorrow. If I can choose between Hope and the world's riches, I would choose Hope. With Hope, I know I can be happy, but I might not necessarily be happy if I owned all the wealth in the world.

Suffering

Day 6 of November in the Year 2008.

This date will be forever etched in my memory for years to come. It is the day I was diagnosed with the dreaded chicken pox and had to be away from the office for 3 weeks.

I didnt know who I contracted chicken pox from but it must be from a public place because none of family members had suffered from it recently. I didnt even confirm that I had the pox initially because the symptoms took a long time to show.

The first mysterious papule (the water-filled blister characteristic of chicken pox) appeared on my back about a week before my diagnosis, and then it vanished. I thought it was a boil or insect bite and thought nothing of it. A few days later a few more papules appeared on my forearm, underarm, face, chest, and shoulders. I was having fever by 5 Nov but I still went back to work. Even my colleagues couldnt confirm that what I got was chicken pox. But that night when I got home I was getting severe chills and feeling very uncomfortable.

The next day I went to see the doctor. I was told that my case was quite rare, perhaps a sub-clinical form, which means I had the pox before so symptoms are less obvious. I was quite ok after taking paracetemol 500mg and I even declined the anti-viral medication, thinking my case was probably not severe.

The next morning I nearly died of fright when I looked in the mirror. My entire face and scalp was swollen with large papules and my shoulders appeared inflamed with red rash. It was as though I had been severely burnt or stung by fire ants. The following day was worse - thousands of tiny papules have formed in the centres of all the red patches that showed up the day before. My face had pus oozing out from the papules and I looked like I was a wart-covered toad or monster from a horror film. As I was washing my face, I think to myself: is this really my face that I am touching?! My face and body was unrecognizable. I didnt dare to imagine what will happen after I recover... No amount of facial treatment will work.

I felt so depressed. I wasnt able to eat as well because the gargle the doctor gave me to treat my blister on my gum had numbed my tongue; I think the fever also affected my tasting ability. Even with the anti-histamine medication I took, the sores prevented me from sleeping well and I was exhausted. I couldnt sleep well in the day either because the sores were so painful when I lie down on any surface. My right eye was red because one papule had appeared on my lower eyelid and irritated it.

I am not sure whether the worst is over or yet to come, but on Sunday 9 Nov the papules had spread to my entire torso (although not as compact as those on my shoulder, neck and face), legs, even my palm and fingers. It was really awful. The fever came on and off, making it worse because I tried not to wear any clothing so as not to irritate the sores but I felt cold when the fever returned.

To prevent myself from thinking about the discomfort and pass time, I started watching 雪の女王 The Snow Queen, a heartwarming Japanese anime about a brave girl's journey to look for her closest childhood friend and the amazing adventures that she had along the way. In one of the episodes, the Snow Queen made this comment, which struck a chord in my heart by the way it related to my situation:

"Only those who bore the cruel Winter truly know the joy of Spring..."

From one perspective, my suffering made me realise that I had been taking my health for granted and neglected to give my body enough rest and proper nutrition. After my suffering I would appreciate and cherish my body and health more. It also applied to many things that we took for granted in life and the occasional suffering or setback that we had to endure would remind us of what we lost, so that when/if we regained them then we would appreciate them more than when we first had them.

Fortunately my parents and 2 maternal aunts who are close to me have been taking care of me during this time. My other half, S, and other close frens have also been concerned and caring. I was glad that S came over on 6 Nov instead of the next day when more papules appeared, as I think S would have died of fright as well. I am eternally grateful to them for their love and I will definitely cherish them more now. Besides my loved ones, I am also thankful to God for seeing me through this rough patch. Hopefully my ordeal will be over soon, and I can look back at this experience and say "I've conquered!" For we are more than conquerers in Christ Jesus! Amen!

10th entry - Looking and Being Beautiful (Part 2)

And then all this media exposure about how we owe it to ourselves to look beautiful ("Because you are worth it") and how we can do achieve this by spending our hard-earned money on beauty products, actually got me guilty and concerned about how little attention I was paying to my appearance. Suddenly I began to notice the blackheads, blemishes and other skin problems - not only on myself but on others as well.

When I stepped into the cosmetics section of a department store one fateful evening in the middle of Year 2001, I never anticipated that my venture would have had such a lasting impact on my perspective towards beauty. My first investment on skincare products cost me nearly $100 in a single purchase (I still remember the brand - Biotherm
), when the most I would normally spend on an off-the-shelf facial cleanser in the past was between $2.20 to $2.60 (depending on where I bought it and whether a sale was on). I was convinced then that I was spending good money on quality products that were better for my skin.

Well, I still didnt know whether what I bought improved my complexion as promised, because I was ruining whatever positive effects I received from the product by my exposure to the sun and chlorine whenever I went swimming. Over the years, the only clearly visible trend has not been improvement in my skin condition; instead, it has been an ever increasing expenditure on skincare. From Israeli brands like Ahava to European brands like Nivea and
L'Occitane en Provence, and Body Shop, as well as an upcoming Singapore brand O2 Skin. Buying the more expensive products made me "feel" good using them because I think that I am pampering myself with good quality products. But is it always true that the more expensive brands or products are necessarily better than cheaper ones?

It really depends. For instance, one of my favourite brands is Aloe 80 Organics, which does not contain artificial coloring, preservatives and fragrances. Most of its products are made of organic Aloe Vera, a miracle plant with 18 amino acids, plus Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, and E. Aloe also contains minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and chloride, traces of magnesium and zinc as well as many naturally-occurring vitamins. More importantly Aloe is filled with Aloe Polysaccharides which are the naturally occurring active components that promote absorption, digestive health, immune qualities, anti-inflammatory and overall health benefits. More information can be found in articles like The Healing Power of Aloe. I am a firm believer of the benefits of Aloe (both for beauty and general health) because a friend's dad diagnosed with colorectal cancer was healed after consuming Aloe gel. Aloe 80 Organics and Lily of the Dessert products do not come cheap, but the proven benefits of the products convinced me that they are worth every penny I spend on them.

On the other hand, sometimes cheap stuff can be really good as well. Take the ordinary Tomato.
It contains lycopene and carotenoids
, which eliminate the harmful effects of free radicals that cause oxidation of cells/DNA, thereby reducing the risk of cancer and aging. I watched a korean documentary on TV featuring the health benefits of tomato, and was amazed by how wonderful a cheap, commonly found fruit (or vegetable) can be. The Centenarians in Southern Italty attribute their longevity to consumption of large amounts of ripe tomato with olive oil in their daily diet. Tomato and olive oil are apparently complimentary - nutritionists claim that cooked ripe tomatoes in olive oil give four times the health benefits than uncooked ripe tomatoes alone, because olive oil (which has health benefits on its own) helps our bodies to absorb better. A meal of tomato cooked in olive oil and pasta costs only at most SGD3.00 if you buy all the ingredients, make it yourself and eat it at home, and not more than SGD20.00 if a chef prepares it for you in a restaurant with a nice ambience where you can dine in luxury.

My point is, looking good and being beautiful does not always come with a price tag. Besides, only a small fraction of the price we pay for expensive cosmetics and beauty products actually go into the product itself. What we are actually paying for are the stuff we cannot use but deceive us into "feeling" good about buying the products - the Packaging. An article from The Independent implied that beauty products sell because of the large investment by manufacturers and marketing distributors on advertising and packaging:

The cosmetics packaging industry was worth £6.7bn to manufacturers worldwide in 2005 and is tipped to grow by more than 10 per cent to £7.5bn by 2009. Nearly two-thirds of all cosmetics packaging is made from plastic, with around one-fifth made from paper. Figures from Lush, a soap maker and cosmetics company that shuns packaging, show that packaging often makes up more than 80 per cent of a product's total weight. Mark Constantine, Lush's founder, said: "Packaging is unnecessary, bad for the environment and uneconomic. If you get rid of it, then manufacturers will have more money to spend on the content and you get more product."
- The Independent, 13 April 2008.

Doesnt it seem illogical to be spending so much money to make ourselves "feel" good? If we spend a few minutes each day to tell ourselves in front of the mirror that "I AM BEAUTIFUL!", our self esteem will receive a big boost and we will be confident and ready to take on the challenges of the world. And its absolutely free!

9th entry - Looking and Being Beautiful (Part 1)

"If you think you are beautiful, you will be beautiful."
- tagline for TV commercial -

For someone who believes that Beauty is more than skin deep, I have become increasingly particular about the skincare products I use on my hair, face and body, and also more interested in skincare knowledge.

Although I hold firmly to the belief that human kindness, discipline, diligence, sense of morality and justice (what I consider to be "inner beauty"), I have always appreciated aesthetic beauty in the form of good looks and physique, natural landscapes and various works of art/design. In my younger days, I spent more of my time consciously pursuing the former. Honestly, when I look back, I think my rationale was more to please others and to be accepted by those around me, than to do what I think is "right". My "character building" activities included attending church, standing up for what I think is "right", being filial towards my parents and doing volunteering work.

As my life experience grows, I start to realise that I am no longer consciously pursuing these things. This is not to say that I am satisfied with whatever I have achieved or moulded through "character building" - there is plenty of room for improvement. I'm glad that I had a solid foundation, without which I would not have a good anchor in a society where moral standards keep shifting and people say "nothing is absolute and everything is relative". In my daily life I do reflect on my deeds and misdeeds and ponder over what I see or experience to make sure that I do not get sidetracked or lose my sense of direction.

In school I was conscious about my appearance, not so much because of vanity as because of peer pressure. Simply put, geeks or "country-bumpkins" were not acceptable by the standards upheld by teens - being "hip" or trendy was a pre-requisite to popularity and happiness as I knew it.



During my army days, the importance of a neat and well-groomed appearance was underscored by periodic disciplinary enforcement in the form of "extra duties" or punishment that the Regimental Sergeant Major meted out to all the enlisted national servicemen. The message was clear: either you cut your hair short or you will have your precious weekends cut short.

When I attended business school at university, I learnt that a professional image leaves a good impression and is a key ingredient to success. Image is especially pertinent in sales and marketing, which I specialised in. I always knew which of my schoolmates had project presentations on a particular day because a group of them would be clad in color-coordinated business attire, huddling around a laptop, with a stack of papers (presumably scripts or presentation notes) in their hands.

Where I am working now, good appearance compliments actual performance and ability (not only to meet or exceed work targets but also to get along with bosses and colleagues). Although I dont meet clients or attend external meetings very often, colleagues tend to make comparisons and gossip about how others dress up in the office, and I noticed that the better-looking ones tend to be get ahead in the corporate jungle.

(continued in Part 2)