Rarely these days can you say "a good time was had by all" but that is exactly what happened when Momo and Ron ventured to Playmountain East in San Francisco last Sunday to give a Shimenawa Workshop to a group of lively, lovely and laughing students made up of Mothers and daughters and friends both old and new.
First a little about the Shimenawa itself.
“Shime” means hold or embrace, and “nawa” means rope. It is believed that this twisted rope keeps impurities away and marks the boundary between the sacred side and the outside world. At shrines across Japan, called jinja, the notion of sacredness is represented in the form of Shimenawa, a twisted rope laid across the front of a sacred zone.
Over the years Shimenawa have come to be hung on the doorways and gates of residences as a protection, a sign of good fortune and a celebration. We hope that the Shimenawa the students made on that cold and windy day in SanFrancisco bring good fortune to each of their homes here in the Bay Area as it has done for centuries in Japan.
After a brief introduction the students paired up into teams. sitting across from each other they started with loose strands of raffia and with the help of their partner began creating a New Year's Shimekazari, or decorated Shimenawa starting with the straw, twisting and braiding and adding decorations. The decorations have a special meaning as well. Adding some citrus to their Shimenawa (We used quince) represented family continuity, Some pine or fern (We used air plants) represented longevity. And the Cranes (tsuru in Japanese) were added to represent hope and peace. Cranes are considered the national animal of Japan.
Not only did each student have fun, they created a very useful and celebratory piece of art! But as Momo always says "Most important is... Enjoy!" And enjoy they did. And Momo and Ron ventured all the way to San Francisco to make it happen. And we like to to think that the "Kami" or gods looked down on the proceedings and smiled.
