Rain dolls on show at apartment

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Those with a healthy dose of superstition may want to learn how to make the Japanese rain dolls now on show in the lobby of the nearly completed Casablanca Mansion apartments in South Jakarta.

"The Japanese believe that by hanging this doll up when the sky turns dark, the rain will go away," said Japanese language lecturer Rezki Zulfitri.

One might find this somewhat hard to believe as there is nothing at all fancy about the doll, which is made from a bundle of white tissues tied together to form a small round head.

"Hey, it reminds me of Casper," said a visitor, referring to the ghostly cartoon character.

The charm dolls and prettier ones made from patterned paper, which are known as the washi dolls, will be decorating the apartment development's lobby all this week.

In a bid to market the remaining 20 percent of its 572 apartments, the Casablanca Mansion is holding the "Japanese Simplicity Festival" from Sept. 22 through Sept. 25. The construction of the apartment development itself is scheduled to be completed in 2006.

Despite the name of the festival being "Japanese Simplicity", there is nothing is simple about the spacious apartments.

Two stands at the festival display a tablefull of colorful paper crafts and Japanese calligraphy made by origami enthusiasts and students majoring in Japanese at the foreign language institute, STBA LIA. They are more than happy to demonstrate their skills as well as teach interested visitors all they know.

Another stand features bonsai trees -- bonsai literally means a tree in a pot or tray -- an artform that was adopted by the Japanese elite from Chinese culture.

With the festival running through Sunday, suiseki (Japanese stone craft) and ikebana (flower arranging), are still to come, as well as Japanese documentary film screenings at the venue.

Meanwhile, as of Thursday, the remaining stands were occupied by fashion institute ESMOD, a pearl jewelry seller, and the Nippon Club from Bina Nusantara University.