I love my mom and dad. Because they are a cute couple, and have their own strengths in different fields. They are truly something so called, "Partners".
My father, Makoto, is a carpenter. He knows everything about wood. He is the man on the right with a black cap in the picture below.
He is incredibly careful (I say he's sometimes too careful...), "And that is why I have never been seriously injured or sick in bed." he says, when my mom and I were making fun of him talking about news on TV and how it would happen to everyone in the family, the news were about the college kid who grabbed a woman randomly on the platform in a train station and jumped into the railway with her. My dad goes, "Ai, don't ever go close to the edge of a platform, and make sure that no one is there a few meters from you while you are waiting for a train. Those kinds of guys are out there watching people, and they just get someone to commit suicide with them." and my mom and I go, "Yeah yeah..." and he keeps talking like how the crime scene would have gone, like the guy would also have done this, or if the woman was me and all that detective kind of stuff. And we always end up saying, "Dad, just calm down!"... haha
And my mother, Michiko, is a great mother, an entrepreneur, and a wonderful woman. (The picture below was taken two years ago in her studio. The short cute woman on the left is my mom, and the one with our lovely dog Lucky is me.)
Well, when we all were in Michiko's studio today, there were two sets of Irori (the kanji is 囲炉裏, and to read its wiki page, click here) and I asked my dad why they have some kind of elbow-like shaped parts. It is so hard to describe what I am talking about, so please see the image inserted below;
Yes, that part. I was wondering what that part is for. Maybe just a bit of twist to the whole design? Nah... I liked it anyway, though. It just looked cool. So, I asked my dad what the heck it was for, and he stared at me (like saying "you don't know??") and said, "Simply, it is to adjust the position of the pot, to control the heat from the fire. You can make it closer to the fire like this, or further like this, you know..." ...my goodness! It was like a magic!! (I am sorry, but I am straight up Japanese. I know. Shame on me.) Okay, who wants to see how it works? You do? Come visit us and I will get my dad to teach you.
Ancient Japanese are smart. And they had an excellent sense of beauty in both visual design and its functionality. Amazing.
As it is said in the picture, he one in the picture is made by my dad. I am sure he can sell it if he had it on the web. Actually, I tried to talk him into it, but he says it would be not so good if he gets kinda "have to do" situation, like this person wants to buy one so he has to make it by this weekend, or something like that. I totally understand his feeling. But my mom and I are fans of him, so we will keep pushing him to make something to exhibit online:D
Ai
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