The "Girl in Kimono" series depicts the four seasons of Japan through the attire of a girl in kimono. The kimono girl is painted with acrylic gouache on a wooden panel. The theme of this kimono girl is hydrangea, rain, and candy. The hydrangea in her hair is a plant that adds color to the rainy month of June. The star-shaped flower on the left is a bellflower. This flower has a long history and is familiar to many people, as it appears in the Manyoshu, a Japanese classic. The flower that clings to the hair like a small butterfly along with the bellflower is the tsuyu-kusa (dewdrop). Tsuyu-weed is another flower with a long history, and the squeezed juice from the petals is used as underglaze paint for kimono patterns. Even in the rainy and cloudy season, there is a lot of joy, and preparations are steadily being made for the next season. The many expressions of love for the changing seasons may be unique to Japan. Kimonos and kanzas are filled with many blessings and joys of the seasons. The girl in the kimono may just want to eat candy rather than worry about such things. But that's okay. Adults know what is passing away, and we sometimes feel a little sadness even as we enjoy the season. Children, however, love and rejoice in the present moment as they should. I think that is fine.
