Hi, ladies!!
Today is the first day of August, high season of hot summer. Recently I’ve become sweating easily than before, probably because I’ve gained weight…While I sweat on a short walk, I can look back on my youth, when I was exercising very hard in a softball club. Under a scorching sun, we played so many training on the ground of our high school that some member got sick. All of us had deep-tanned skin and very short hair. It was sometimes unbearable to take such a strict training, but we could almost enjoy that summer with warm bonds of friendship, which have now become a great treasure in my memory. Even now, I can completely remember our trivial chats at that time. Hot summer reminds me such a fantastic memory.
So, see you tomorrow. Good night!
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Hi, Cherry and friends,
Now I can feel a touch to breeses, which make me forget the heat during the daytime. I've just read the conclusion of Miyake's: the Legacy of the States Management of Women. I feel a little sad to know that the experience of working in the heavy industry during the war opened possibilites for women to work in the places which had been dominated by men. I am a little comfused by Miyake's referring it as the legathy. What she writes sounds ironic, or she had such a positive attitude. Thank you for reading.
Hello, Cherry and my precious friends.
Today I had two nice and happy telephone calls, one was from Noriko san and the other was my eldest daughter, Hiroko.
Noriko is getting better on and on, so she's going to leave hospital next Friday. She is now in a room for several patients but for a while after her operation she was in a private ward.
Although her pain on the right leg has almost disappeared thanks to the surgery,she still suffered a pain on the left leg. She plans to have another operation next year.
The other call was from my eldest daughter,Hiroko. She is going to have her second child next March. In January, Yuko, my son’s partner, is going to have her first baby. I will get busy taking care of three grandchildren.
I'd like to complete writing my paper within this year.
It's late as usual. Good night!
Dear Cherry and friends,
Hello. How are you?
Since 2 days ago, I've been reading Prochaska's “Women and Philanthropy...”
Today, I read the section on Bazaars in Chapter I.
There are 2 types of Bazaars: commercial and charitable. The charity bazaar was an institution where people could buy fancy goods “at less than twice its market value” and which raised money for charity. (p.47) The charity bazaars were also known as fancy fairs, fancy sales, or ladies' sales. The charity bazaar came into prominence in the early nineteenth century. The number of bazaars increases with population growth. The Times advertised 6 charity bazaars in 1830, 14 in 1850, 21 in 1875, and 16 in 1895. If local newspapers were counted, more than 100 bazaars a year must have been advertised. The number of bazaars rose everywhere in England during most of the century.
Some organizations recorded receipts from bazaars. For example, the CMS raised 28,817 pounds from 1,083 fancy sales in one year at the end of the nineteenth century.
Favoured season for the charity bazaars were spring, early summer, and the week before and after Christmas. Fancy fairs were held almost anywhere. The hotels and the grounds of Regent's Park were popular places.
Prochaska encourages us to see the charity bazaar not only as women's charitable activities but also as nineteenth century entertainment. Attractions and entertainments were devised as part of bazaars. Bands and singers performed. Opening ceremonies were carefully planned to amuse lots of visitors. It's fun to imagine the stallholders themselves wearing the costumes of Dickens's characters. A Lady Dedlock from Bleak House, perhaps?
Ladies' committees were often set up to organize bazaars. They started them from scratch, and thus much work had to be done.
Patronage was an important factor. To attract a lot of guests, Queen Victoria, distinguished ladies, actresses, or the wives of MP were requested for their patronage.
The charity bazaar also provided chances for young men to flirt young ladies.
Like woman philanthropists generally, fancy fairs were criticized for reducing women to shop-girls. Such criticism fails to realize that “the fancy fair was and expression of the coming of age of women in philanthropy.” Actively attending such events, women could escape from “lives of refined idleness or domestic drudgery.” (p.71)
Good night.
Hi, everybody!
Thank you for telling us about philanthropic activities by Procheska, Alice. I couldn’t understand fully because of my little knowledge of background of the era of England. I hope I will understand more clearly soon. Even in Japan, we see ‘a charity pot’ in front of big department stores at the end of the season every year. I also reminded the famous movie starred by Elizabeth Tailor, in which the mother and her daughters struggled to keep their own living at subsistence level without a husband or father. They, however, frequently and routinely visited to the poorer or sick neighbors. I was very impressed with their affectionate behaviors. They were not surely rich but seemed to live very affluently from a view of a poor Japanese girl. Oh, I am missing that old movie.
By the way, I have always heard the word “布施”, or ‘offering’ . I think Buddhism “offering” seems to be different from Christian “charity”. I haven’t researched yet, but my impression is that “offering” is common citizens’ donation, some food and tiny money, to support trainee monks. Well, thank you for my stupid delusion. Bye, bye, friends,
Dear friends,
Cherry wrote about Magnolia's contribution. I'd like to say belated happy birthday to Magnolia. The PC screen filled with flowers must be very beautiful. I feel as if I could see your happy smile, Magnolia.
Concerning to 布施, or offering, someone taught me 七布施or the lesson of seven offerings： 眼施､和眼悦色施、言辞施、身施､心施、床座施、房舎施. Seeing the kanji, we can understand what each offering means. It is always easy to say than done.
Good night, have a nice dream.
Hello, friends.
Sorry, Cherry and peach, you are confused about my contribution and my birthday.
My DH sent a picture of roses to my computer recently, but it wasn't on my birthday, which was the Valentine's Day every year.
But my contribution was printed in the Asahi on my DH's birthday coincidentally.
Very complicated, but in a sense I thought that it was a good present for him because I expressed thanks for him in the paper.
But he seems to be in a bad mood after that. My daughter in law said that he felt shy or embarrassed, but I don't know. He is complicated and hard to manage.
I don't care about it because I grew accustomed to that.
Dear Cherry and friends,
Hello.
Magnolia, I agree with your daughter-in-law considering his usual attitude toward you. Why is he so reluctant to admit that you and your husband are having a better relationship recently? It's obvious, isn't it? Beats me....
Thank you for commenting about Japanese Buddhist offerings, Cosmos and Peach.
Charity is almost equivalent to fuse, but, in my opinion, their only difference is the motive.
In Buddhism, people practice fuse as a training. Such practice aims to achieve spiritual enlightenment, so called satori.
In Christianity, people practice charity to escape the damnation of hell. That is, salvation.
Today, I read the section of Little Vessels from the same Prochaska.
The section explains how children became active charitable agents in 19th century England.
Prochaska does not forget the primary objective of writing this book. It is about “Woman and Philanthropy.” Therefore, women's work was emphasized along with children's charitable activities.
Family was responsible for the education of children.
This can be restated as, “Mother was responsible for children's faith in God,”
for the following reasons.
- Family is women's sphere.
- For children, family is their mother.
- For Victorians, education is to inculcate faith in God.
Faith in God is not enough to explain children's charity.
How did Victorians educate children to be charitable contributers?
First, children were taught that they were expected to be good because they are wicked.
Victorians thought being good is to be kind to the less fortunate, not to mention the heathen.
Secondly, children were impressed by stories of female missionaries. Some were so persuasive that children became collectors if they wanted to save the heathen .
Thirdly, missionaries societies published children's magazines which sentimentally stressed “the themes of thrift and self-denial, the power of sin, the weakness of the flesh, salvation by faith, the sweetness of a Christian death, the wickedness of the heathen, and the moral and cultural superiority of the British.” (pp. 91-92)
By the way, the English thought the heathen deserved their pity. “No matter how impoverished the Englishman, the heathen could be made to look more wretched.” (p.85)
Good night.
Have a good Sunday.
Hello, friends.
Yesterday sunflower, cosmos and I went to see gloriosa at a splendid Okazaki hospital. It's rather new and had a grand view because her room was on the 7th floor and she said that she could enjoy Okazaki firework festival the previous night from the window.
She looked cheerful and starving to have an intellectual conversation, so we talked and talked for about 1.5 hours with her.
I wonder if she was tired after we left, but she seemed happy and talked about her condition , reading and studying. I was impressed that she studied even in the hospital. What a deligent student she is!
I was relieved that she got well and hope her rehabilitation will go well.
Hi, Cherry and friends,
It is August 3rd. I read Ichiko Kamichika autobiography. In the preface, she mentioned her misfortune and esteemed herself unlucky. Her father passed away when she was three. Her brother who was a doctor and supported the family was dead when she was nine. As financial condition worthen, she was sent to others' house but returned as they refuse to support her. It was in 1898. I'll keep writing on her. Have a nice day!
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