The forum is down. If you try to access it here
http://tousando.proboards18.com/index.html
you will get a message from Proboards about a fire having resulted in
their servers not being online.

They are working to restore service, but it may be a few days.

Go do something else, it's a nice day.

Saionji no Hanae
West

(Ah, it's so refreshing to be "the westerner"... Usually I'm
the "eastern" one...)

Anyway, I haven't been around lately, as I'd returned to my studies of
my homeland of Russia.  However, I will be packing my homemade kai-
awase set for Pennsic, and I was wondering:  Does this list do a
Pennsic gathering?  Us folks over at the Slavic Interest Group list do
an annual meet-n-greet at War.   I'd love to be able to thank some of
you in person for the help and information provided to me last year
during my sojourn into Japanese garb.

Thanks,
Sfandra Dmitrieva

Noble Cousins!

Greetings from Solveig! Since Tosando is down at the moment:

http://www.ookusa.net/roots/houtoushiki.wmv

Your Humble Servant
Solveig Throndardottir
Amateur Scholar






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Noble Cousins!

Greetings from Solveig! Since Tosando is down at the moment:

http://www.ookusa.net/roots/houtoushiki.wmv

Your Humble Servant
Solveig Throndardottir
Amateur Scholar






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ok, I guess I'll be the ignorant one and ask... is it a religious thing? Is it
culinary? Neither?

   It was interesting to watch, but I don't understand its purpose. Please
explain, Solveig-sensei.

   - Imagawa Tadamori


Solveig Throndardottir <nostrand@...> wrote:
           Noble Cousins!

Greetings from Solveig! Since Tosando is down at the moment:

http://www.ookusa.net/roots/houtoushiki.wmv

Your Humble Servant
Solveig Throndardottir
Amateur Scholar

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Noble Cousin!

Greetings from Solveig!

> Ok, I guess I'll be the ignorant one and ask... is it a religious
> thing? Is it culinary? Neither?

It was culinary. The Okusa were the chefs who served the shogun as
opposed to the Shijō who served the emperor. There appears to a bit
of a period food fad going on in Japan. Earlier, Ii wrote about his
meal at a "Heian" restaurant. The Okusa folks (and they do have a
national organization) combine Taiko drumming and itamae performance
such as you saw in the video.

Your Humble Servant
Solveig Throndardottir
Amateur Scholar






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Greetings to the list!

I am currently working on A&S worthy Heian woman's clothing.  In doing
my research I have come across a passage in Dalby's Kimono which
states that the successive layering was properly achieved (showing the
colours at collar/eri, sleeve, and hem) by cutting the ginu smaller as
one works outward.  I am confused by this statement as I am fairly
certain from readings on Tousando, Master Effingham's site and
Saionji-dono's site that this glimpse of colour is achieved not by cut
of fabric, but through appropriate placement during dressing.  Perhaps
I am mistaken.  If most if not all fabric was woven in widths of 16"
(?), presuming a resistance to waste of fabric, placement would appear
more accurate.  As this is intended to be an A&S entry (in a kingdom
where Japanese is seldom done and rarely well) it is of the utmost
importance to me to be as accurate as possible.  The Laurel who is
guiding me in this endeavor is just as intrigued by the contradictory
statements as I am.  If anyone could elaborate or clarify I would be
most grateful.

Sugihara no Naome

Personally, I cut all of my uchigi to the same measurements whenever
possible.  To make each layer successively smaller would negate the
ability to use each layer in more than one ensemble.

I suggest that instead of cutting each layer smaller, you increase
the seam allowance, thus allowing you to keep the ability to re-use
each layer, while still allowing you to get the exacting layer effect
for this ensemble.

And yes, you will probably still want to tack your collars in place.

I'd love to know who is helping you with this :)

Kurokamakiri/Danabren
East

>
> Greetings to the list!
>
> I am currently working on A&S worthy Heian woman's clothing.  In
doing
> my research I have come across a passage in Dalby's Kimono which
> states that the successive layering was properly achieved (showing
the
> colours at collar/eri, sleeve, and hem) by cutting the ginu smaller
as
> one works outward.  I am confused by this statement as I am fairly
> certain from readings on Tousando, Master Effingham's site and
> Saionji-dono's site that this glimpse of colour is achieved not by
cut
> of fabric, but through appropriate placement during dressing.
Perhaps
> I am mistaken.  If most if not all fabric was woven in widths of 16"
> (?), presuming a resistance to waste of fabric, placement would
appear
> more accurate.  As this is intended to be an A&S entry (in a kingdom
> where Japanese is seldom done and rarely well) it is of the utmost
> importance to me to be as accurate as possible.  The Laurel who is
> guiding me in this endeavor is just as intrigued by the
contradictory
> statements as I am.  If anyone could elaborate or clarify I would be
> most grateful.
>
> Sugihara no Naome
>

-----Original Message-----
>From: Dawn Wilson <morningstar.dawn@...>
>Sent: Jun 5, 2008 12:06 AM
>To: sca-jml@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [SCA-JML] Cut of Heian ginu

>In doing
>my research I have come across a passage in Dalby's Kimono which
>states that the successive layering was properly achieved (showing the
>colours at collar/eri, sleeve, and hem) by cutting the ginu smaller as
>one works outward.  I am confused by this statement as I am fairly
>certain from readings on Tousando, Master Effingham's site and
>Saionji-dono's site that this glimpse of colour is achieved not by cut
>of fabric, but through appropriate placement during dressing.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought what Dalby said was that she had assumed
it was achieved by cutting them smaller but discovered otherwise when she went
to have her picture taken in period costume.  She certainly has a description of
going to one of those photography places where they make you up like a geisha or
samurai (or in Heian period clothing in this case) and how they did the
layering.  Granted, cheesy photography places are not good historical resources,
but I think Dalby agrees with you about placement vs. cut.

--Franzi

I had come across this awhile back as well. But after the Known World Symposium
during the Women's Japanese garb class, (I honestly do not rememer the teachers
name. I only remember her credentials and the fact she was a strong authority on
Historical Japanese clothing) The teacher did indicate that bottom layers WERE
NOT cut smaller than top layers.

   Personally, I would think this is true. I do not see any practical Japanese
Lady wasting any unnessary portion of fabric. It look ages to weave and somtimes
decorations were worven in. Why would anyone waste somthing like that?

   Also, a few years ago(before the symposiom), a freind and I created what we
thought was Hein at thhe time. Of course, we did the bottom layers cut smaller
than top. What we found was that it could only be wron in that pattern. The
Kimono color pattern layers could not be changed or worn with anything else. It
simply did not look right.

   Also, an Idea that I have been playing around with for quite sometime. The
color patterns used for the seasons are very similar (if not right on sometimes)
to the colors used in flower arrangeing. (I forget the name) But the traditional
style of color use, and what flower was in season and all that, was a huge
influence on what women wore during the year. (I guess to match the gardens.
Makes sense to me.)

   I apologize for not knowing my terms. And I hope I am making sense with what I
do remember.

   Helena/Hotaru
   (Who should start playing a bit  more and get back into the swing of things)

Dawn Wilson <morningstar.dawn@...> wrote:
           Greetings to the list!

I am currently working on A&S worthy Heian woman's clothing. In doing
my research I have come across a passage in Dalby's Kimono which
states that the successive layering was properly achieved (showing the
colours at collar/eri, sleeve, and hem) by cutting the ginu smaller as
one works outward. I am confused by this statement as I am fairly
certain from readings on Tousando, Master Effingham's site and
Saionji-dono's site that this glimpse of colour is achieved not by cut
of fabric, but through appropriate placement during dressing. Perhaps
I am mistaken. If most if not all fabric was woven in widths of 16"
(?), presuming a resistance to waste of fabric, placement would appear
more accurate. As this is intended to be an A&S entry (in a kingdom
where Japanese is seldom done and rarely well) it is of the utmost
importance to me to be as accurate as possible. The Laurel who is
guiding me in this endeavor is just as intrigued by the contradictory
statements as I am. If anyone could elaborate or clarify I would be
most grateful.

Sugihara no Naome







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought what Dalby said was that she had
assumed it was achieved by cutting them smaller but discovered otherwise when
she went to have her picture taken in period costume.

Yes, I remember reading that too, and I remember reading it elsewhere
also (but they might have been citing Dalby, for all I know). It was a
few years ago, though, so don't ask where that "elsewhere" was!

To be a possible dissenting voice--I believe there is some evidence
for this in Jidai Ishou no Nuikata--but I am in Japan and not with my
sources.  When I get home I will check.

That said, the difference, if there is any, is not great as I recall,
and seems to be mostly in the sleeves--if I'm remembering things
correctly.  And if anything, I believe it is the circumference of the
sode (with the outer garments being maybe a centimeter or so smaller),
but I need to check my sources.

-Ii

On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 12:51 AM, Audrey Bergeron-Morin
<audreybmorin@...> wrote:
>> Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought what Dalby said was that she had
>> assumed it was achieved by cutting them smaller but discovered otherwise
>> when she went to have her picture taken in period costume.
>
> Yes, I remember reading that too, and I remember reading it elsewhere
> also (but they might have been citing Dalby, for all I know). It was a
> few years ago, though, so don't ask where that "elsewhere" was!
>

Of possible interest:
http://wodefordhall.com/heian.htm

And recent photos of me in karaginu mo at CostumeCon 26. Ginu are cut
to the same size and I ran a single tacking stich through the collar
at the back of the neck and through the top of each set of sleeves.
(Like lettuce on an overstuffed sandwich, my hitoe sleeves have never
behaved properly.)
http://imagecraft.smugmug.com/gallery/4902732_3mA59#P-6-9

Assuming internet is restored at home, I will have a look at Dalby
again after work.

Saionji no Hanae,
West Kingdom

I just pulled out Jidai Ishou no Nuikata.  Some thoughts:

- The itsutsuginu in Jidai Ishou no Nuikata is a period "cheater"
garment, made with one body and five sets of sleeves/collars/hems.
For that, it would make sense that any offset, if it exists, would be
sewn into the garment...but from the illustration of the reconstructed
garment, it does not appear that there is any offset, or if there is,
it is very small.  (That particular itsutsuginu, though, is five
layers of the same color, so there's less to contrast).

- Ii is right about there being a size difference between the inner
and the other layers of the *whole ensemble*: the bodies are all the
same size, but the sleeve widths-- and lengths-- vary.  The sleeves of
the outer layers (uwagi and uchiginu) are about a centimeter or so
smaller in width than the itsutsuginu, but about 5 centimeters smaller
in length (I believe to help the inner layers "pooch" out and show
more clearly).  The inner layer, the hitoe, is a good 5 centimeters
wider in the sleeves (and longer in the body as well), so it clearly
shows all around (the sleeve length here is the same as the
itsutsuginu).

I'd say any size difference depends on the type of garment.  The hitoe
(underneath) is the biggest; the kinu used for layering (to form the
"heart" of the kasane) are all the same size, and any offset is
produced from the way they are worn; and the (uchiginu and) uwagi are
a little bit smaller.  This makes sense: the outer and inner layers
will stay where they are, but the layering kinu can be reorganized
depending on the season.

- Abe Akirakeiko


On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 11:18 PM, JL Badgley <tatsushu@...> wrote:
> To be a possible dissenting voice--I believe there is some evidence
> for this in Jidai Ishou no Nuikata--but I am in Japan and not with my
> sources. When I get home I will check.
>
> That said, the difference, if there is any, is not great as I recall,
> and seems to be mostly in the sleeves--if I'm remembering things
> correctly. And if anything, I believe it is the circumference of the
> sode (with the outer garments being maybe a centimeter or so smaller),
> but I need to check my sources.
>
> -Ii

Dalby, Kimono: Fashioning Culture, Chapter 7, p. 235 of my edition,
facing the color plate of Ms. Dalby in karaginu mo:

"I had mistakenly thought that the robes in a set must have each been
cut smaller in order to reveal the edge of the one beneath, but I
discovered that the effect was created as each layer created more
bulk, and it was the skill of the dresser that made the edges lie so
neatly apart....."

p. 229, see description of hitoe "cut slightly larger than the ones
that came on top. The hitoe protruded prominently at the sleeve
openings and hem." The uchigi description repeats the fact that it's
the bulk of the layers that reveals the edges of the inner ones.

p. 230, see description of Karaginu with "relatively narrow sleeves."

See also Abe-hime's response regarding relative dimensions on the
various garments.

Saionji no Hanae
West Kingdom

For those of you in the Pennsylvania-Harrisburg area, there's a
Japanese flower arranging display and workshop.  Below is the
information from the site.  Here's the link:
http://www.hacc.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=radiusGallery.Showcases&id=1638

Radius Featured Showcase :
Ikebana Vessels, May 01, 2008 - June 30, 2008

Open House: 5/4, 1-3pm
Special Event: 6/15 Ikebana Presentation

Ikebana Demonstration
(Radius at The State Museum)

Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arrangement. Different from mass
arrangements popular in western culture, Ikebana is based on lines in
twigs, leaves, and small blooms. The Ikebana vessel is also a
component in the arranging. Radius, HACC Gallery & Museum Shop is
hosting a showcase of Ikebana vessels from May 1st through June 30th.
The Harrisburg Chapter of Ikebana International will talk about the
history and advancement of Ikebana and conduct a demonstration, led by
Alice Hartman. The presentation will be held in the auditorium of The
State Museum.

There is a $10 registration fee.

                             Sarah/Takako

Konnichiha!

watashi gaitadakiarigatougozaimasu!

My SCA name is Uesugi no Ryujuichiro Uchiyasu, and yes that means I am
doing a Japanese Persona.

Wanted to introduce myself.  I'm from Shire Redewolf Den, in the
kingdom of Meridies.  Anyone from the same kingdom as I?

This month I will be at border raids and next month I will be teaching
a class at RUM (Royal University of Meridies)

no meiyo to sa^bisu
Uesugi no Ryujuichiro Uchiyasu

Greetings and well met, friend. My SCA name is Minamoto Hirotoshi, and
I too am a Japanese persona. I hail from the Shire of Talmere in the
Kingdom of Meridies. I'm not familiar with the Shire of Redewolf Den,
but that's probably because I've never been to an event yet. Anyways, I
am aspiring to be a heavy fighter and any advice you could offer is
welcome if you too are a fighter. Or if you ever just want to talk
Japan, that's cool too.

Thats cool, I have done any heavy fighting yet, atleast not at an event. 
But I have done plenty of Kendo, and other sword arts.  And within the
shire when we have fighter practice I use a Naginata.

I will be at Border Raids this month will you?

In Honor and Service,

Uesugi no Ryujuichiro Uchiyasu

--- On Mon, 6/9/08, Trent Dickerson <twisted_trent@...> wrote:
From: Trent Dickerson <twisted_trent@...>
Subject: [SCA-JML] Re: konnichiha
To: sca-jml@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, June 9, 2008, 5:14 PM











             Greetings and well met, friend. My SCA name is Minamoto Hirotoshi,
and

I too am a Japanese persona. I hail from the Shire of Talmere in the

Kingdom of Meridies. I'm not familiar with the Shire of Redewolf Den,

but that's probably because I've never been to an event yet. Anyways, I

am aspiring to be a heavy fighter and any advice you could offer is

welcome if you too are a fighter. Or if you ever just want to talk

Japan, that's cool too.





























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Greetings,

At the last Collegium, I got it in my head that it might be nice to
offer a class on the Japanese Tea ceremony for this upcoming Fall
Collegium, along with the option of sampling the tea and a sweet of
some sort during the class. Of course, a class block is two hours, and
my knowledge of Tea and pre-modern culture in Japan is by no means
exhaustive. I was wondering if I could get some feedback, on what
folks might like to see included in the class, so I can better prepare
a lecture outline.

Right now, I'm looking at a broad overview of Chado from its origins
up to about the end of the SCA period or shortly after. I'm planning
on including a summary of Buddhism and how it relates to Tea, and a
similarly brief overview of the arts (pottery, calligraphy, etc)
involved in the ceremony.

I was wondering if there were other things people might like to see
presented in the class.

Thank you for your time!
--Bronwyn of Gyldenholt

Remind me again when Border Raids is? Chances are I can't go. I have a
really weird work schedule. My days off are different every week and I
can't take off work either. But if I can go, I will try to go.

It's the last weekend of this month, friday, saturday and sunday at fort. Knox
KY

In Honor and Service,

Uesugi no Ryujuichiro Uchiyasu

--- On Tue, 6/10/08, Trent Dickerson <twisted_trent@...> wrote:
From: Trent Dickerson <twisted_trent@...>
Subject: [SCA-JML] Re: konnichiha
To: sca-jml@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 5:13 PM











             Remind me again when Border Raids is? Chances are I can't go. I have
a

really weird work schedule. My days off are different every week and I

can't take off work either. But if I can go, I will try to go.





























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's always fun to learn about the little things that could be missed (like what
direction to point the tea pot in)

I too am teaching a class at RUM this year and Japanese Naming Practices as it
applies to the SCA and also on titles, etc.

In Honor and Service,

Uesugi no Ryujuichiro Uchiyasu

--- On Tue, 6/10/08, celticmiste48 <britt.booth@...> wrote:
From: celticmiste48 <britt.booth@...>
Subject: [SCA-JML] CAID Collegium Class
To: sca-jml@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 1:06 PM











             Greetings,



At the last Collegium, I got it in my head that it might be nice to

offer a class on the Japanese Tea ceremony for this upcoming Fall

Collegium, along with the option of sampling the tea and a sweet of

some sort during the class. Of course, a class block is two hours, and

my knowledge of Tea and pre-modern culture in Japan is by no means

exhaustive. I was wondering if I could get some feedback, on what

folks might like to see included in the class, so I can better prepare

a lecture outline.



Right now, I'm looking at a broad overview of Chado from its origins

up to about the end of the SCA period or shortly after. I'm planning

on including a summary of Buddhism and how it relates to Tea, and a

similarly brief overview of the arts (pottery, calligraphy, etc)

involved in the ceremony.



I was wondering if there were other things people might like to see

presented in the class.



Thank you for your time!

--Bronwyn of Gyldenholt





























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Noble Cousin!

Greetings from Solveig!
> At the last Collegium, I got it in my head that it might be nice to
> offer a class on the Japanese Tea ceremony for this upcoming Fall
> Collegium, along with the option of sampling the tea and a sweet of
> some sort during the class.
Ahhh. I'm not sure what exactly you are proposing to do. The sencha
ceremony is pretty much post-period in Japan. The Matcha ceremony
is solidly period. The problem with matcha is that it requires
significant
set up and tear down time and non-trivial actual execution time.

Sweets themselves are somewhat problematic. Assuming that you are
preparing usucha, then tradition says that you should serve higashi.
Higashi is not that difficult to make, but it is difficult to find
premade in
North America. Omogashi is a bit easier as I'm pretty sure that
mizuyokan
is period.

> Right now, I'm looking at a broad overview of Chado from its origins
> up to about the end of the SCA period or shortly after. I'm planning
> on including a summary of Buddhism and how it relates to Tea, and a
> similarly brief overview of the arts (pottery, calligraphy, etc)
> involved in the ceremony.

Thinking big aren't you. Actually, one hour of instruction followed by a
demo should work fairly well. The thing that you need to account for is
setup and tear down time which have to occur before and after your
time slot. Basically all of the mizuya work and that sort of stuff.

So, where is this event supposed to take place?

Your Humble Servant
Solveig Throndardottir
Amateur Scholar






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Noble Cousin!

Greetings from Solveig! I forgot to ask which temae you were planning
on performing.

Your Humble Servant
Solveig Throndardottir
Amateur Scholar






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am just starting out research for a Japanese persona and so far I haven't been
able to
find very much on female Japanese names.

These are the two links I have found so far that list info on female names:

http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/miscellany/names.html and
http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/3001.txt

I noticed there was a comment on the first article "Frequently the names of
plants, things
from the arts, seasonal elements, and other "feminine" things were taken for use
as
women's names. For example, in the film Ran, the bitch-figure is Kaede (maple)."

As well as the listed surnames: Sakuma and Sakurai, Sakuma listed as a given
name in the
second article as well.

What I was wondering is would Sakura be an acceptable pre 17th century female
given
name? I have a feeling if it is, that it might be a "done to death" type thing.
If that's the
case let me know as well. I'm just particularly attached to that name and was
hoping it
would be possible to use it.

Also, can anyone link me to any more information on female japanese given names?

Thanks in advance,
Kelly

On 6/12/08, Luka Petrova <Nichy@...> wrote:
> I am just starting out research for a Japanese persona and so far I haven't
been able to
> find very much on female Japanese names.

Unfortunately, that is a problem.  What era are you looking at?  That
might help find specific examples.

> What I was wondering is would Sakura be an acceptable pre 17th century female
given
> name? I have a feeling if it is, that it might be a "done to death" type
thing. If that's the
> case let me know as well. I'm just particularly attached to that name and was
hoping it
> would be possible to use it.

You could definitely justify it, I think.  Look at 'Matsu' (Pine) of
'Toshie & Matsu'--she was the wife of Maeda Toshiie in the 16th
century.  However, while I can't think of anyone named that off the
top of my head, it seems extremely cliche for some reason.

Here are some other plants and trees that might be doable (I don't know):

Hasu (Lotus), Matsu (Pine), Kashiwa (White Oak).

I'd look up native plants and see what could be found.  If you have
questions, you can ask and we can probably tell you whether it is
likely appropriate for the period.

Or you could probably go with Sakura.  As I said, it seems cliche,
though I can't think of any other reason not to do it.

-Ii

I think Sakura would do just fine.  Are you using the translation meaning
"Cherry blossom"?  A lot of female names where given in the way you
mentioned before, a plant or something else dear to the parents.  "In Japan
the cherry blossoms are believed to exemplify the transient
nature of life, because of their short blooming times. Cherry blossoms
also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides
being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life" <- Choy Lee,
Khoon

As with alot of cultures unless the person did something worth writing about
then you won't find any documentation of the name.  But we do know how
names where created and it is likely that it could have been used.  I used
to have a pic of the kanji for sakura done with cherry blossoms, if I can find
it I will send it your way.

The only reason I can think of that it might not have been used often is the
short blooming period, people may have been afraid to use in to accidently curse
their child with only a short period of beauty, or even though the kanji is
different, when said aloud Sakuran can be used to mean derangement or confusion

In Honor and Service,

Uesugi no Ryujuichiro Uchiyasu

--- On Thu, 6/12/08, JL Badgley <tatsushu@...> wrote:
From: JL Badgley <tatsushu@...>
Subject: Re: [SCA-JML] Female Given Name
To: sca-jml@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008, 2:26 AM











             On 6/12/08, Luka Petrova <Nichy@charter. net> wrote:

> I am just starting out research for a Japanese persona and so far I haven't
been able to

> find very much on female Japanese names.



Unfortunately, that is a problem.  What era are you looking at?  That

might help find specific examples.



> What I was wondering is would Sakura be an acceptable pre 17th century
female given

> name? I have a feeling if it is, that it might be a "done to death" type
thing. If that's the

> case let me know as well. I'm just particularly attached to that name and
was hoping it

> would be possible to use it.



You could definitely justify it, I think.  Look at 'Matsu' (Pine) of

'Toshie & Matsu'--she was the wife of Maeda Toshiie in the 16th

century.  However, while I can't think of anyone named that off the

top of my head, it seems extremely cliche for some reason.



Here are some other plants and trees that might be doable (I don't know):



Hasu (Lotus), Matsu (Pine), Kashiwa (White Oak).



I'd look up native plants and see what could be found.  If you have

questions, you can ask and we can probably tell you whether it is

likely appropriate for the period.



Or you could probably go with Sakura.  As I said, it seems cliche,

though I can't think of any other reason not to do it.



-Ii



























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In sca-jml@yahoogroups.com, "JL Badgley" <tatsushu@...> wrote:
> Or you could probably go with Sakura.  As I said, it seems cliche,
> though I can't think of any other reason not to do it.

It could be worse, it could be "Sayuri."

I correspond with a lot of SCA-Nihonjin on this list and on the
Tousando forum. For what it's worth, I only know one Sakura.

Saionji no Hanae
West Kingdom

I've missed a lot of the discussion, as I was offline for a week.
   (Dogs and powercords do not mix well for future referance)

   I am rather curious as to how to name, my japanese persona.

   i have the given name, Yumi...but not the "Rest" of it...
   can i have some help?

   Emeline/Yumi/The confused


Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass
   it's learning to dance in the rain.
                                         Unknown.


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