Japan is the heart and soul of Paper Demon Jewelry. All of the inspiration and nearly all of the materials come from Japan, collected over the 30 years that I’ve been traveling to and learning about Japan as a university professor of Japanese studies. My kids are half Japanese and I have a lifetime of friends and family scattered all across the islands.
So, when the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster struck Japan the week of March 11, I sprung into action. Well, more accurately, for about 5 days I watched frozen in horror and grief at the images that began to pour out of that country on CNN and on the Japanese news that I streamed on the internet. Then I sprung into action. I needed a place to channel my feelings of sadness, helplessness, and shock.
So late one night, after turning off the television instead of going to bed I went downstairs to my studio and almost without thinking consciously, affixed a blood red mino washi paper to an earthy brass heart charm, and a reedy white arasuji washi to a delicate peace dove charm and laquered these to a shiny hard finish. The red and the white of course symbolize the colors of the Japanese flag, but for me the blood red heart (later changed to a double heart when I got a new shipment of supplies!) symbolizes compassion, a core Buddhist tenet. And the white peace dove symbolizes Japan’s 60-year-old anti-nuclear movement, that came to life after the terrible bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Many dedicated people have worked long and hard to rid Japan of those nuclear power plants like Fukushima Daiichi.
I hung the charms on a cord, photographed them, and put them in my Etsy shop with 100% of the proceeds to go to the Red Cross in Japan. I had no idea if I’d sell even one. But to my lasting joy, I sold so many that I’ve raised, as of April 6, almost $1200 for Japan! (this includes also 25% of all sales at my Etsy shop that I’m dedicating to Japan at this time). I’ve met many wonderful people through this fundraising, selling my jewelry at a local Festival for Japan Relief here in Oregon, and selling pieces to some Japanese Etsy shoppers who have written to share their thoughts about the calamity.
I am glad that there was something I could do for Japan, a country that has given me so much, in this time of multiple calamities. I hope to be able to do more in the coming months. Join me if you can!
