Because you never know when too early becomes too late, I am posting this 2011 calendar now. It came in yesterday's mail, from a German-Canadian friend spending a month in Kyoto. When I pulled it out of the envelope, I saw the writing first and gasped in recognition. Then I saw the cats--and knew them, too.Years ago when I lived in Iwate, in northeastern Japan, Nobi-Kobo, the people who put out the calendar, had a collection of wonderful postcards based on the stories of Miyazawa Kenji and featuring cats. Kenji was born in Hanamaki, Iwate, not far from where I lived. Only a couple of places sold the postcards and I used to go out of my way to buy them to send to friends.
Getting this calendar was like suddenly meeting old, half-forgotten friends, all thanks to another old friend. The greeting on the front is for a year of health filled with smiles and wishes. The calendar is put out by Nobi-Kobo, which turns out to be a 'cat' shop on Tetsugakuno michi in Kyoto. Check it out (Japanese only) at www.nobi-kobo.com.
