赤蜻蛉 Freshly inked

Here is a snap of my irezumi as it was the day of inking! Have been too impatient to wait for it to heal, so am posting this wonky pic. Arigatou to Miss Hotaru ("firefly") of Knockover Decorate who translated my red dragonfly wistfulness to tattooist Takami-san, and hurrah for Takami and his palette of inks!

Performance of "Aka Tombo" by Sho Amano

赤蜻蛉 Red Dragonflies

A hovering akatombo is a most stunning sight in autumn, as if the bleeding hues of maple leaves themselves stain the dragonfly in its passing. An old children's song "Akatombo - Red Dragonflies" was popularised in the 1920s, and is a melancholic ode to days past.

Aka Tombo 
(lyrics by Rofu Miki, music by Kosaku Yamada)

Dragonflies as red as sunset 
Back when I was young 
In twilight skies, there on her back I'd ride 
When the day was done  

Mountain fields in late November 
Long ago it seems 
Mulberry trees and treasures we would gather 
Was it only just a dream?  

Just fifteen she went away one day 
Married then so young
Like a sister lost, I loved and missed her 
Letters never seemed to come  

Dragonflies as red as sunset 
Back when I was young 
Now in my eyes, when I see dragonflies 
Tears are always sure to come

The Dragonfly Isles

In the summer and autumn of Nippon, the dragonfly can be spotted careening around the riverside, skimming the water's surface and darting between reeds, sometimes being chased by children with nets, at others smacking cyclists unexpectedly in the nose (and sometimes burrowing down the back of their shirts, as happened to Sir S, which I suspect is a damnably awkward thing to happen whilst cycling).

Japan was once known in ancient times as 秋津島 Akitsushima, or the Dragonfly Isles. Dragonflies were associated with happiness, and with victory, and often adorned the helmets of samurai. In fact, just the other week whilst in Tottori for the hanami festival, who should I bump into but a dragonfly-bedecked warrior. These days dragonflies decorate many a pretty thing, from bento boxes to chopsticks, to jewellery and windchimes.

On the cyber-broadsheet I recently perused another meaning of which I'm rather fond, that is in Native American culture, the dragonfly is a symbol of renewal after hard times.

Kohi & cats

Miss M, Miss Usagi and I recently spent a lazy Saturday morning at the charming Sakura Cafe, where we reclined on retro-chic armchairs, supped orange-flavoured chai and watched a collection of cats play in the sun. The gallery-cafe is to be found in an old wooden farmhouse in the countryside off Cherry Tree Road, and it overlooks an inviting courtyard garden and storehouse, as well as a sweeping view of green hills. Simply delightful!

Miss Usagi and Miss M in front of ye olde storehouse

Ye olde courtyard

Interior, Sakura Cafe

Miss M and Miss Usagi, rugged up at the Sakura Cafe

Miss Usagi meets the resident neko-chans

Neko-chan plans to take over the world

"Shall I swat that butterfly, or shall I snooze?"
It's hard to be a cat in country Japan.

入れ墨 irezumi: the truth about tattoo pain

As I will be departing the Orient this year to traverse more northerly shores, I took it upon myself (or to be more precise, upon my actual person) to commission an epidermal etching as a permanent keepsake of my time in the ol' Nippon.

Today I visited the inking salon for my first-ever rendezvous at the point of a needle. The evening prior I had spent fretting over various tattoo forums online, randomly googling "tattoo pain" & c, perusing ghastly horror stories that left my teeth chattering and Sir S chiding me for consulting the unreliable cyberwaves on such matters.

I wanted to commit to my blog a description of the pain levels for other first-time inkpots who might be curious. My tattoo is on the centre of my lower back, and is probably the size of a small teacup-saucer and took nearly 2 hours. It features a thin swirly circular border, overlaid with a red dragonfly (赤蜻蛉). The wings have minimal detail with a smoky grey fill. The pain was nowhere near as bad as I expected. In fact, it was more like a prickly irritation than swooning pain. However, I did experience most of the sensations that are commonly described in the "Ye Gods! That Prick Bally-Well Hurt, By Jove!" forums. From worst to least painful:

1. Cigarette burning (especially for the thicker lines and fill)

2. EpiLady nipping (if you've ever used this one, gals, the sensation of a tattoo needle is very similar - an irritating plucking and nipping that one wants to swat at)

3. Pin-cushioning (the needles for the finer lines were just like a needle from a sewing kit or mummsie's pin-cushion, but light and hot upon the skin's surface and not at all deep)

4. Cat-scratching (it was fun to visualise our cat, Grandmaster Flash, snagging his claws into the flesh above my sacrospinalis; another sensation that causes an irresistible desire to swat the tattoo artist)

5. Buzzing (aye, much buzzing went on during my inking session, and this was my fave bit because it didn't hurt at all and felt rather warm and fuzzy, verging on the ticklish)

6. Tickling (occasionally the tattooing was purely ticklish, to which I had to stifle a giggle for fear that a sudden laugh would leave a permanent, wonky line upon my person)

7. Tummy rumbling (the vibrations of the needle caused a pseudo-hunger in my poor tumkin and it seemed to rumble for food, even though I'd just scoffed down mentaiko fish egg pasta earlier! The rumbling was similar to that at music halls, when the drummer gets lively and one can feel the clash of cymbals and thump of the drum in one's innards & c)

My tattooist was very gentle and always paused and wiped after about 10-20 seconds of needle reverb. As soon as the needle paused, any discomfort subsided immediately. These regular but brief "rests" made the whole experience far more comfortable than I'd anticipated. During the session, I mainly experienced sensations #2, #4 and #5.

Make sure to eat well and drink lots of water beforehand. My throat got mightily parched towards the end, even though I'd downed quite a bit of water before the session. Also, be aware that one can get sleepy during the session, and therefore there is a tendency to drool. Keep tissues at the ready!

Finally, I found that visualising Transporting Scenes of Fun and Jests helped to keep me calm during the "cigarette burning" bits. During the 2 hours, the following scenes flickered in my cinematic brain and assisted in keeping the niggling pain to a minimum:

1. Our aforementioned cat clawing the furniture, carpets, pantihosed legs of guests, any vertical or horizontal object & c in a never-ending, manic frenzy of scratching;

2. The Mighty Boosh's "Ice Floe Song" replayed itself several times for comic amusement;

3. Recollections of the weekend Hen's Party, where the petite and elegant Miss S provocatively ate a gigantic sausage whilst wearing bunny ears.

Flashy considers his own artistic nous
("If only someone inked my claws!" thinks he)

Cluck Cluck Hen

Much fun was had at Miss S's Hen's Night, along with the delightful Mmes M & A! The hen of the evening donned rabbit ears, and sausages were flourished about in a saucy fashion (but without the HP)!

By the riverbank

春 Spring in Matsue!

お花見 O-Hanami

This spring, Sir S and I took in cherry blossom parties with the Handsome Mr Hiroki and the Japan Rail office staff in Tottori. The cheerful chaps from JR donated beer and an enormous block of tofu to our hanami picnic. Hurrah!

Sir S and Mr H

Sir S and a cheerful chap from Japan Rail (his company party was neighbouring ours,
and he generously topped up our food and drink supplies!)

Sir S with another chappie from Japan Rail

Miss E takes photo of samurai taking photo

Seaside escapades

Miss V and I enjoyed a lovely trip down to the South Coast, took in the sea air and had many a swim in the luscious rockpools that top and tail the beaches there. Marvellously invigorating!

Adelaide Fringe '08

Further Antipodean snaps ...

Antipodes ahoy!

While the classrooms lay forlornly quiet at St Hearn's over February and March, myself and Sir S jetted down under to the Home Country to take in the tropics in the Far North of the country, sup at the ample vintner's Barossian bosom in the south, and to frolic at the beach and take in High Tea in ol' Sidonee town. Enjoy this selection of pics.

Random cottage amid the sugar cane, North Queensland.

One must drive carefully in North Queensland.

Aussie flora.

Miss E, Sir S and Mrs B walking the prom.

Death-defying feats over Largs Bay.

February skies

Golly, the Year of the Rat is scurrying by, without a whisper (or whisker) from this superslack scribbler who will remain nameless, ie, Miss E!

Before Sir S and I dashed off to the Antipodes in Feb, Matsue was steeped in a snowy hibernation ...