Thursday, February 11, 2010

Visit to Japan Nailist Association

Had an interesting evening visiting the Japan Nailist Association in Tokyo. They've moved to a nicer premise and is bigger than before. We spend much time exchanging ideas & catching up on the nails industry in both our countries. Look forward to opportunities in future for both our associations to work together for a better environment for those passionate about nails in our Asia countries.


















 Had a nice walk to see the beautiful Christmas lights after leaving the JNA office.






 












 

 During my time in Japan, I also had the chance to meet up with many Japanese Nailist in the exchange of nail techniques & culture. The most memorable one would be learning to wear a kimono & incorporating the Japanese Kimono Designs into nail art. We were able to incorporate elements from the Japanese Culture & Kimono print into nail art designs



 
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 But the most interesting part for me is when we had trainers from a Kimono School teach us to wear the traditional kimono the correct way, I can say that it was both exciting & difficult. There are many steps involved to enable us to be nicely "covered" in what looked like pieces of beautiful cloths.








 

 Having successfully wearing the kimono can transform the entire posture & feel of a person, you'll feel more graceful... perhaps because you'll need to take small steps now due to the cutting of the kimono. I managed to make my own Obi bow...the "ribbon" sash behind the kimono. There are many many types of Obi bow- hanaba obi, anesa obi,etc.
They say a woman looks the most beautiful from the back view, technically with the face turned 45° to the side... we practiced many many times, as a woman need to memorize & wear a kimono on her own... this is exactly what they practise at the Kimono Academy.



Something I admired about the Japanese people, they truly take the effort to maintain their heritage & culture. It is so easy to lose all that during the process of development & progress. I am happy to be able to help retain something so beautiful of Japanese Culture with them.