Saturday, February 22, 2020

The Art of Bunka Japanese Embroidery

There is a form of Japanese embroidery called "Bunka". Both my dad and my mom took classes in this art form. Today I passed on two of my parents bunkas (Double Cranes) and a good luck Japanese double Daruma doll. Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. I believe my mother created the "double cranes" which are especially significant to love (ie 1000 cranes when you marry will be displayed at your wedding). We passed these two framed pieces to my parent's first born grandson Tim and his wife Pauline today. So happy these will hang and bring good thoughts from my parents to their home. Also when we visited my mom's best friend Helen today we saw another Bunka of two beautiful koi fish swimming together. We recognized this familiar work and asked Helen who had made it. She smiled and said "Bill -Your DAD!" These reminders of things our parents made, make us all so happy.





  Double Daruma dolls made by my dad. Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement.




 Double cranes signifying long lasting love made by my mother Ruth.



 Beautiful Koi fish made by my dad. Actually he made two of these. One he gave to a caregiver in the nursing home he lived in at the end of his life. The caregiver was so kind to my father. He considered her like his daughter. She was dedicated and loyal to my father and even took him with our permission to her family party. He loved every minute of his outing with her. His request was to give this Bunka to that young woman and her fiance. The second one as you see was a gift to Helen.

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