Rain dolls on show at apartment

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.