cat | DIY Eraser Stamp

When I was in Japan, I loved attending different kinds of flea markets. There were quite some flea markets in Tokyo, where shop owners would sell not only food and fresh greens, but used kimono cloths, toys and dolls. A kokeshi lover, I would always stop by shops which sold second-hand kokeshi dolls.

It sounds crazy, but I had heartache whenever I saw kokeshi dolls being abandoned. I never had enough money and space to buy them all, but I would always observe them and hold them one by one, even lined them up properly to make sure they would be found, bought and taken good care of by their next owner.

It takes a kokeshi master at least ten years to master their skill to make kokeshi dolls. Every kokeshi smile is unique. Learnng to appreciate art is more important than buying it.

Just like the stamp thing, I got the cat thing just recently.

I guess there are too many cats around in Japan! It’s nearly impossible not to see one of those in a day, and most of the time they are so mysterious.

I will not forget the cat I saw in Hong Kong a year ago. She was a white stray cat with three legs. She might be fed by people in the food market in a regular basis, and there’s where I saw her. I was wearing my winter leggings that day. When she came to me she started to rub her neck against my right leg. She looked at me and meowed softly. It was one of the most innocent yet lonely faces I had ever seen. The scar next to her eyes, the missing of one of her limbs, her yearning for love came all at once in that single moment.

That was the beginning of my love to cats.