Camera Case & Japanese Sunshine

Oh the rainny... well should I say snowy days of good ol' St. Louis Missouri...

Let me start from the beginning -

This past Christmas my loving parents got me and my husband an amazing new camera because the flash died on my old one. The camera came with all of the extras except for a case. Truly - a case is a total need, however I am not one that would go out and purchase your everyday black Nikon one. It's just not my style...

Having said that, I was in the bookstore about a month ago and came across an awesome camera case. The only problem was that the pattern was designed for a regular sized digital camera. You know, the ones that are about the size of your average cell phone. Not having one of those, but still loving this pattern I tweeked the pattern to make it fit my needs ;) (surprise surprise)

The case encompassed an old Japanese fable about the Teru-teru bozu. Rough translation: Shine-shine little buddy of mine. It's a little traditional hand made doll of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside their windows. It's supposed to bring good weather and prevent rain. I talked to a friend of mine, M, who's Japanese and she also told me that Japanese children hang up a teru-teru bozu the day before a school field trip to wish for sunny weather.

The case is just slightly larger than the camera to prevent it from moving around and getting scratched. I used an older baby blanket to help line the inside of the case to protect my camera even more. The best part is the door on the front that opens to reveal my little Sunshine Buddy.

Teru is a Japanese verb to describe sunshine, and bozu is a monk, however it is also a term of endearment for addressing little boys. There is a song that goes with this sunny little buddy which my own Japanese grandmother sang to me over the phone! I have to say it's up there as one of my most precious memories. One, because she's in her late 70s singing me this nursery rhyme, and two, because she was laughing so much that it's hard to understand her ;o)

Here's the rhyme:

Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu

Do make tomorrow a sunny day

Like the sky in a dream sometime

If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell

Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu

Do make tomorrow a sunny day

If you make my wish come true

we'll drink lots of sweet rice wine

Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu

Do make tomorrow a sunny day

But if the clouds are crying

Then I shall snip off your head

Ok... a little morbid with the last bit, and truly the original Japanese language makes it sound much more beautiful!

Bring on the sun!!!