Enchanted by Lawrence
Kazuko Yamagata May 24, 2013
On behalf of my friends and I, I'd like to tell you about my recent visit to Lawrence. We, Hiroko Fujiie, Akiko Arabiki and I paid a private visit to Lawrence from April 28 through May 6. My friend Eugenia Bryan emailed me last November, inviting me to visit her with my daughter/friends. I decided to come to Lawrence with two of my friends. It seems to me like a dream come true.
Hiroko, Akiko and I belong to the Nadeshiko Club in Hiratsuka. Nadeshiko or a pink is a city flower of Hiratsuka, and is in the same family as a carnation. Eugenia and I have been pen pals for fifteen years since her son Kevin Sullivan introduced her to me when he was invited to the Nadeshiko Club fifteen years ago. Eugenia has been to Hiratsuka several times, and she visited my house in 2002 and 2011, when I had a potluck for her at my house with the members of the Nadeshiko Club.
I fell in love with Lawrence. It is a beautiful peaceful and clean town. I have heard a lot about Lawrence from Kevin before, but it was far more fascinating. This time I heard some people say that most travelers just passed through Lawrence to visit other sightseeing spots. It is a pity. I'm sorry for the travelers. It seems to me that they didn't know the true Lawrence. The same is true of Kansas. It is not just a flat place as is usually said to be but has lots of attractive spots. You cannot see such a place as the Flint Hills anywhere else, and Kansas/Missouri River Valley was a must-see spot. I only saw part of Lawrence and Kansas State; however, I was enchanted with them.
People in Lawrence were friendly. Eugenia took us to her friend's potlucks, her friend's art studio, her friend's quilt making workshop, Art in the Park, a ball dance, a bowling alley, Japanese Friendship Garden, Spencer Art Museum, Van Go Art Gallery, KU and Haskell, besides the Flint Hills, where we went with Eugenia's friend Ellyn, and the Missouri/Kansas River Valley. Eugenia introduced us to a lot of new people. We may have said "Nice to meet you" nearly 100 times. All the people we 1 / 5 met during our stay in Lawrence were friendly, elegant and nice to us. The people Eugenia introduced to us were all attractive. After family dinner, we did the casual tea ceremony. Those present were interested in it and most of them wanted to try doing it. The guests who were invited to the Japan Day were mostly older than I am; however, they looked young and were full of energy. Some wanted to try beanbag juggling since I told them that it required hand-eye coordination, which would prevent from being dementia. They are my ideal persons. I hope to become such an active energetic woman.
What made our trip enjoyable was all thanks to Eugenia. She was a perfect guide. When Leo was taking the wheel, Eugenia, on the passenger seat, was turning back to us and explaining what we saw through the car windows. I was amazed by her profound knowledge of history and geography of Lawrence and Kansas.
Eugenia took us to several restaurants. We had Mexican, Czech, Greek and Japanese dishes as well as American dishes including cowboy meals at Eugenia's house and American, Italian, German and Irish dishes at restaurants. All the dishes prepared by Eugenia and served at the restaurants were delicious.
To my great joy, Eugenia and her youngest daughter Martha held a surprise birthday party for me one evening. They did celebrate my birthday with their homemade cake. I cried out in unexpected pleasure. I will never forget the happiest day of my life.
You are familiar with the sightseeing spots in Lawrence, so let me tell you something except them, a Japan Day and a quilt sewing bee.
May 1st was a Japan Day, which Eugenia and I named. Hiroko, Akiko and I got together to talk about a Japan Day several times before coming to Lawrence. We decided to introduce Japanese culture such as the Way of Tea, Japanese calligraphy, Japanese cuisine, origami, cup-and-ball game and bean bag juggling.
On the Japan Day, we had a potluck. In the morning, Akiko, Hiroko and I prepared Japanese dishes --- "chirashi-zushi," boiled pork with soy sauce and Chinese wine, beef fried with rice malt, fried noodles, boiled spinach seasoned with soy sauce and sesame and "miso" soup.
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Eugenia's house was filled with a Japanese atmosphere. She covered the tables with her handmade quilt table centers, decorated the living room with Japanese photo books, the items she had collected in Japan, Hiroko's calligraphy works, etc. Some guests brought dishes or desserts, and others flowers. One of her friends brought gerberas in two vases in Japanese flower arrangements; another friend brought a lovely May basket of pink carnations, which reminded us of Hiratsuka's city flower.
The items we brought from Japan were: a set of tea utensils, powdered green tea and Japanese sweets for the tea ceremony, several ingredients like rice malt, soy bean paste and packaged rice for Japanese cuisine, Japanese calligraphy works written by Hiroko and calligraphy pens, handmade decorative hats made of Japanesewashi paper, handmade crocheted table center, handmade bean bags, chopsticks, chopstick bags & chopstick rests made of origami, origami works for decoration and twenty handmade necklaces made of silk ties for the guests.
Luncheon started at twelve thirty, followed by the tea ceremony. Akiko did the traditional tea ceremony, and I explained the procedure. She showed the Way of Tea in a "ryurei" style, which is a casual and friendly style of tea ceremony using a table and chairs to sit on. Hiroko showed her calligraphy works of Japanese short poems written in a cursive style and explained the meaning and gave calligraphy works with each guest's name on to the participants, which were written in a beautiful cursive style. The three of us showed beanbag juggling, and I showed a cup-and-ball game and "amidakuji" lottery. We gave the origami works such as special cranes, lotus flowers, flower baskets, balloons, ninja's throwing stars, etc., which were displayed on the tables, to whoever wanted.
We were very happy to see the guests enjoying our performances and wearing the silk necklaces on the day, which we had given them. On the following morning, one of the guests came to Eugenia's house to give us some presents. She wore the silk necklace. We were pleased to know that the guests were pleased with our presents. A few days later, Eugenia showed us a thank-you letter from one of the guests, which made us exulted.
In the sixteenth century, Sen-no-rikyu, the founder of the Way of Tea, taught his ideals through four words: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. Harmony means that the host and guests can enjoy each other's company. Respect means the attitude 3 / 5 of appreciating people and things. Purity means the ideal of nothingness. Tranquility means a state of mind. They are the most important to keep in mind for the Way of Tea. At the tea ceremony in Japan, it is often said that "treasure every encounter, for it will never recur." It means that you have to make the most of your relationships with friends. I will treasure every encounter in Lawrence.
On May 4th, we participated in a quilt sewing bee, enjoying quilting with Eugenia. She purchased some fabric to make a wall hanging, using a focus piece called "Kamakura Sisters." They carry lanterns in kimonos on a dark blue background. Kamakura, which is near our city Hiratsuka, is a place where Eugenia's granddaughter was born. Therefore, it meant a lot for her. She had already pre-cut the material for a pattern called "Chinese Lantern," so all we had to do was put the pieces together by doing the running stitch with a needle and thread. Eugenia said that it would be fantastic to have a permanent piece of our friendship in the quilt. I felt the same way.
We had unusual weather. It was a pity we could not visit Nelson Art Gallery because of the bad weather, however, we visited Eugenia's friend Tudy's art studio and another friend Kelly's quilt making studio instead. Tudy showed us around in her studio and Kelly let us operate her quilting machine. Visiting two studios was one of my favorites. We were lucky because we experienced both summer and winter during our stay. We wore short-sleeved T-shirts on hot days, but on cold days we layered our clothes, listening to Leo's guitar in front of a burning fireplace in the cozy room. Snow was falling on a lilac tree in Eugenia's garden in May, which was fantastic. I heard the people in Lawrence say many times, "This is Kansas. Just wait one moment. It will change." Now I understood the meaning very well and came to think it was not so bad.
I met Kevin to hand a gift from Eugenia after returning to Hiratsuka. I told him about my trip, showing him the photos. Then Kevin asked me to talk about my trip to his students in his class held on that day. I agreed and told them what a wonderful time we had in Lawrence and recommended they visit Lawrence at least once.
Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to Eugenia and Leo, who showed us what hospitality was.
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*4 At Van Go Art Gallery *5 Quilt Sewing Bee *6 The Tea Ceremony
*7 Dishes on a Japan Day *8 Desserts on a Japan day
*9 Bean Bag Juggling *10 At Tallgrass Prairie *11 Art in the Park
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