Yoshimi Hamaya, Kazumi Miura, Rie Okada, Yuri Kuramatsu, Kinuyo Nishimura
Front Row from left: |
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Months ago, the Shoo-Fly Quilters (also members of the Welcome John Mung Society) in Tosashimizu decided to embark on a project that would appeal to American children. They finally agreed that since the Teddy Bear is a universally loved character for Americans (and Teddy Roosevelt was related to Franklin Roosevelt whose grandmother lived in Fairhaven) they would work on a teddy bear….well, two teddy bears.
They worked in groups and at home and after months of planning and two months of stitching, they had created a pair of enormous patchwork bears.
One bear is dressed in the kimono traditionally worn by a seven year old girl at the 7-5-3 Festival (Shichi-go-san). On November 15, seven-year-old and three-year-old girls and five-year-old boys are dressed in their finest clothes and brought to the Shinto shrine for prayers. The name of this Japanese bear is Shio, which was the name of Manjiro's mother. The other bear is yet unnamed. She wears a traditional American dress that Manjiro's school friends might have worn. Both bears wear a camellia, the flower that is a symbol of Tosashimizu. The bears spent the airplane ride from Japan in luggage in the hold. They were much-scrutinized by airport security who were suspicious of the wooden joints buried in the stuffing. The bears were a gift to the Sister City Committee and will live at The Millicent Library. They may travel from time to time to other locations to interact with kids.
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