Hi, this is Bakataal Kato writing.
This is the 2nd Text on this website.
Today’s topic is about snow that fell a few days ago.
A few days ago, it snowed in Tokyo.
It also snowed in our yard in edge of Tokyo, and we got a few inches snow.
The next day, my friend’s family came to my house.
It is rare to snow in Tokyo. So my friend’s daughter was happy that there was snow in our yard.
She and my friend（her father）made YUKI-DARUMA.
YUKI-DARUMA is a japanese snowman.
YUKI is a japanese word for snow.
DARUMA is a Japanese traditional old doll and it looks like a round doll.
But her YUKIDARUMA didn’t have a traditional style.
It was beautiful in an original style and I thought it was very artistic.
The next day, it became more beautiful.
It looked like BOSATSU.
BOSATSU is a one of the BUTSUZO and has a woman like style.
（※BUTSUZO = BUTSU + ZO
BUTSU ＝ Buddha
ZO ＝ statue
so, BUTSUZO means Buddha statue.）
And the next day, it took on more human-like shape.
She has a beautiful chin and a beautiful neck line.
By the evening, she became very shin like a person with serious illness.
And finally…
Her head fell off.
It may look like a sad picture.
But it’s just a traditional snowman！
If you think so,it’s not sad.
By the way, the snowman changing its shape little by little over the course of a few days was an expression of the impermanence of all things.
“The impermanence of all things” is one of the fundamental ideas of Buddhism, that nothing is eternal and universal.
Watchin the YUKI-DARUMA that 6 years old girl made in a day is very interesting for me.
