Making a Clay Shisa

 Shisa are everywhere here in Okinawa.  They are sometimes called lion dogs.  They are protectors of homes and businesses.  They usually come in pairs; one has its mouth open and one has its mouth closed.  The one with its mouth open is said to be scaring away evil spirits with its mighty roar and the one with its mouth closed is keeping good spirits in.  The shisa is said to have come from China.  Here is a link to more information about the history of shisa.  

There is a street here in Naha that is known for its pottery.  It's called Tsuboya Yachimun Street.  This area of Naha has been the center of pottery making since the 1500s.

I saw an article in a base magazine about a shisa-making class.  I was intrigued right away.  I genuinely love the look of shisa and the idea of them protecting your home.  I knew it would be a fun way to comemerate our tour here in Okinawa.  I immediately reserved us a class.  We chose Veteran's Day since Cody an the kids would be off of work and school.  It was easy to book online through the Dojo's website. They were very communicative, sending an email with instructions.  We were told to go to Ikutouen store first and they would give us a map to the studio/dojo.  

Anytime I can, I do what we call a dry run before going someplace we haven't been before.  We did a dry run out to the area on the Sunday prior to Veteran's Day. They were having a festival and there were lots and lots of people and booths.  We drove carefully down the oneway brick road and located the shop and a pay parking lot.  On the day of, we were set.  We drove easily down the tiny street since there was no festival.  We pulled into the parking lot and figured out how to use it.  These parking lots have yellow metal plates in the middle of them.  You back into the spot and within a few minutes the plate rises up under the car, preventing you from leaving.  When you return to leave, you pay the parking fee at the machine.  The metal plate lowers and you have four minutes to leave.  It was easy enough. 

We waited until 10am when the shop opened to walk over and ask about the dojo.  I showed the lady the email and she handed us a laminated map.  It seemed to be straight forward.  Leave the shop turning right, walk down to where there is a do not enter sign, turn right up that street and it appeared that we needed to go down the second road to the left.  

Halfway up the hill we encountered a musical truck.  It was a trash pickup truck.  Here is a video of the sound it made.  I didn't get a video of the actual truck.  

We continued up the hill and turned down what we thought was the correct pathway.  It was not.  We walked back and went up further.  Then we went back to again where we thought we were supposed to go.  I entered the street name Tsuboya into Googlemaps and followed it around much further than we knew it would be but we doubled back and managed to stumble up to the correct location...20 minutes late.  I felt horrible.  I despise being late.  They were incredibly gracious when we arrived and promptly got us started with the process.  

We each chose a color of glaze we would like to have on our final product.  Three of us chose red and one chose black.  We paid for our class, they do take credit card, and we were led to a table that was set up for us.  The dojo is open sided so there was a nice breeze everyone in a while.  There was another group of 4 that were making a hanging shisa.  We were making standing shisa.  The instructor is fluent n both Japanese and English as she went easily between our groups, giving instructions.  We were given three balls of red Okinawan clay.  She flawlessly showed us how to construct our shisa.  There was jazzy calming music playing in the background and it was a very pleasant vibe in the studio.  

Afterwards we took a few photos outside the dojo and headed back to the car pleased with ourselves.  On our walk back we realized our mistake on the way up.  The trash truck had obstructed our view of a small sign that pointed down the path.  I believe it would have instructed us to go that way had we saw it.  The map is a bit off as you should take the first path not the second OR we just misunderstood what a path is on the map.  The map was in Japanese and had pictures but we still were not able to figure it out.  Either way we made it back to our car and were very happy with our adventure.  

Now we wait 2 1/2 months for the shisa to be completed.  I believe they let them air dry for a very long time before firing them.  I will share them when we get them back. 

I would highly recommend the shisa making experience!

Tsuboya Pottery Yachimun Dojo
1 22 33 Tsuboya, Naha 902 0065
Booking contact: webform@ikutouen.com
https://yachimundojo.com/

An hour of Crafting at the USO

The USO on base is quite active.  They are open most days of the week.  It's a really nice place with snacks and tv and an area to relax.  I signed up the other evening for an hour of crafting.  We made a Twinkle Pumpkin.  They provided the items to make the craft and delicious hot apple cider.  

Twinkle Pumpkin

I love crafting.  There were a lot of ladies there.  Most of them came with a gal pal.  I felt a bit out of place since I don't have any gal pals here.  I quickly completed my craft and came on home.  I was friendly and others were friendly toward me however it just felt off.  

These last couple of years have pushed me to be more reclusive.  I guess we all have with the lockdowns.  I'm friendly with people.  I have acquaintances but I've not had a close friendship in several years.  

It's okay to be upset

Last week I had a couple of instances where I had to say to myself and even out loud, "It's okay to be upset."  

My son was helping bring in the boxes from our trunk-or-treat and the handle broke on the box he was carrying and it fell to the ground hard.  Two of my cups from the snack sets I had broke.  He told me what had happened and I was upset.  He immediately wanted to be defensive.  I explained to him, "I am not upset with you.  I am not angry with you.  I'm sad and disappointed that my two cups were broken.  I can be upset with a situation without placing blame or anger on you."  He seemed to understand but still seemed a bit off.  

Another situation occurred.  I took our Basset Hound, Mr. Shelby Cornbread, to get a bath and nail trim up at the place on Kadena.  I had a drop-off time of 2pm.  I left him there and went to Burger King for a snack of chicken nuggets and a drink.  I sat there for a while just pursuing Facebook until the Middle School kids came in and I decided to let them be without an adult lurking nearby.  I went back Karing Kennels and parked and started watching some Netflix (I am a Stalker). When it got to be near 4PM and 2 hours after I had dropped him off, I went back in to check.  I also needed to pay deposits for some Kennel Reservations we have coming up in the next couple of months.  I paid and told them I was in the parking lot waiting.  Around 4:30 they came out and I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't have good news.  She hesitantly told me, "I'm so sorry.  One of our groomers had to leave early and the one left just isn't going to be able to get to Mr. Shelby today.  I'm really sorry."  I followed her back into the building.  I said, "It's okay.  I'm disappointed but I'm not angry with y'all.  These things happen."  The two ladies apologized to me multiple times and each time I told them I understood.  They were so relieved when I was nice about it.  I told them the same thing I told my son.  "I can be upset about this happening but not be angry with y'all."  

I think we are often so reactive to others' emotions that we set them and ourselves up for a fight. I could have been angry with my son for breaking my cups but it was an accident.  He didn't intend for the handles on the overloaded box to break.  He was helping me out by bringing the box in. 

I could have been angry with the groomers and the clerks but they didn't expect the one groomer to have an emergency and need to leave early.  

I hope to continue to learn how to be upset without being angry.  I'm allowed to have emotions about things and situations without being angry or mad with the people involved.  It's not an easy thing and I'm just now "getting it".  I hope I can show empathy to others and let them know it's okay to be upset.  

Spatula Happiness.

I never imagined buying a spatula would make me happy but here we are.  I'm happy with a spatula. 

Some people call them egg turners or flippers but I call them spatulas.  

To make it even more confusing I also call these spatulas as well.  

                          But anyway, back to this marvelous Big Mama Spatula. She's 15 inches! 

I had a hard plastic one that I loved and used for 25 years and then it broke.  I asked for a replacement for Christmas last year.  Sometimes I give easy suggestions to make it easy for the kids to buy me a gift.  They got me a nice one, the one in the photos, but it was too flimsy.  I need something firm and strong.  I did not like the way the spatula would bend when I was trying to dip something out of or scrape something out of the pan. 

Last week I started searching for something made in the USA and found this Big Mama.  It's made in the USA out of hardwood.  It is perfect. It is large. It is firm and strong.  It is wooden.  It is made in the UDS.   It requires a bit of upkeep but so worth it for me to have a sturdy utensil to flip burgers and whathaveyou.  It needs to be washed by hand and occasionally oiled. 

Should you like one for yourself here's a link.  (Disclaimer.  I receive a small commission when you purchase through my link at no additional cost to you).