Kaori Wakamatsu

Kaori Wakamatsu is a Japanese Illustrator whose work spans from design goods to magazines, to advertising work. Some great illustrations have been published in form of postcards, and I have *ks12* to thank for this beautiful girl with a flower :)

Fresh Figs

 

Mmmmmmmmmmmm...yum :) I am looking forward to august just for the fresh figs in our garden, one of my favourite fruits. Thank you for this swap Regina :)

And now I learn that this common fig is a species of Ficus genus, go figure..! I've never thought of ficus and figs in correlation before. The common fig fruit is called syconium and is rich in vitamines (esp B) and anti-oxidants.

Views Of US Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.

The 1st postcard gives some interesting facts about the islands, the 2nd shows St. Thomas main shopping area, and the 3rd one of the most popular white sand beaches on the St. Thomas island. I was wishing for the USVI view cards and here they are :) One thing puzzles me though - this set, and one other sent a week later, both have San Juan/Puerto Rico cancellations :/

UNESCO - Mill Network At Kinderdijk-Elshout, The Netherlands

 

The Kinderdijk-Elshout mill network is an outstanding man-made landscape that bears powerful testimony to human ingenuity and fortitude over a millennium in draining and protecting an area by the development and application of hydraulic technology. The site illustrates all the typical features associated with this technology – dykes, reservoirs, pumping stations, administrative buildings and a series of beautifully preserved windmills.

The Netherlands are one of the most active postcrossing countries, yet is hasn't been easy to obtain Unesco cards as beautiful as this one - thank you Moniek, and for a variety of stamps! :)

UNESCO - Statue Of Liberty, USA

Made in Paris by the French sculptor Bartholdi, in collaboration with Gustave Eiffel (who was responsible for the steel framework), this towering monument to liberty was a gift from France on the centenary of American independence in 1886. Standing at the entrance to New York Harbour, it has welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States ever since.

Strangely enough it took me a while to receive a postcard of this world-famous statue...last autumn I was lucky to join the vacation rr with NY group, and have Robin to thank for this lovely view :)

UNESCO - Historic Centre Of Évora, Portugal

Évora is a Portuguese city in the municipality of Évora and a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. This museum-city, whose roots go back to Roman times, reached its golden age in the 15th century, when it became the residence of the Portuguese kings. Its monuments had a profound influence on Portuguese architecture in Brazil.

This postcard shows the Cathedral of Évora, one of the oldest and most important monuments in the city, lying on its highest spot. This first building, built between 1184 and 1204, was very modest and was enlarged circa 1280-1340, this time in early Gothic style. The cathedral received several valuable additions through time, becoming the largest of the mediaeval cathedrals in Portugal and one of its best examples of Gothic architecture.

Many thanks for this addition Marta :)

Ukiyo-e - Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu was one of the Great Military Lords of the Sengoku period (15th to 17th cent.), here depicted by Toyohara Chikanobu, a prolific woodblock artist of Japan's Meiji period.

Thank you Ayako :)

Tokushima Gotochi Card

My first Gotochi card! Gotochi cards are designed and released by the Japanese Postal System, and each one of them represents a place in Japan - hence the name 'gotochi', which means 'local'. They showcase Japanese symbols on a national and regional level - every prefecture has multiple cards, each card with a cartoon picture and the name of the place that is depicted. While they are super-cute they are also more expensive to send than normal postcards - and so it is hard for Japanese postcrossers to send a lot of them.

(info found on the official postcrossing site)

And the last sentence explains why it took me a while to receive one of these...I haven't even swapped for it but Heather, who is living in Tokushima, sent it as a surprise in an envelope :) And the card represents a dancer participating in yearly Awa Dance Festival held every August in Tokushima as part of the Obon Festival. Groups of choreographed dancers and musicians known as ren (連) dance through the streets, typically accompanied by the shamisen lute, taiko drums, shinobue flute and the kane bell. Performers wear traditional obon dance costumes, and chant and sing as they parade through the streets.

Awa is the old feudal administration name for Tokushima prefecture, and odori means dance.