Happy Uso-Tanjoubi to Me!

Today is "my pseudo-birthday*", better known as St. Michael's Day or All Angels Day. When I was a wee lad (as opposed to a wee adult), my family celebrated my birthday on September 29th so that I would have some semblance of a real birthday instead of sharing it with JC on my actual b-day, December 25th.
(*new label created for this date.)

I had to preside over a wedding in Morioka today and, while there, saw the coolest Momotaro display.

That dog is awesome!

The wedding itself was uneventful, yet I did enjoy the theme.

(Fyi, the bride did not fit the motif.)

Upon return, I decided to wander through Parco, e-Beans and Loft in hopes of finding myself a birthday present. Nothing caught my fancy, so it's like receiving money for my birthday, since I didn't spend any.

I came across a manga display at e-Beans called Genga! Genga! Genga!. I wasn't familiar with any of the characters so I didn't bother forking over 500 yen to gawk at some pictures. Others may enjoy it, here are some details:

I didn't walk away entirely empty-handed. I nabbed a post card.

As I was leaving e-Beans, I espied a Halloween display at a Rock shop (Actual rocks, not of the Rock 'n roll type.)

I'm very disappointed at the Halloween display at Loft this year. In previous years, there has been a dozen or more shelves devoted to treats and costumes. This year, there is only two racks of goodies.

Right next to those goodies, is a Pop-up store called Alice on Wednesday. There was a long lineup to enter so I didn't wait around but if you click that link, you'll see what's available.

As I approached my home, I decided to get a celebratory cake for myself. Thanks to Peko-chan, I acquired a pumpkin-topped cupcake.

I tried writing about today's events earlier but ended up being distracted by Ghost Rider,  Jumanji and finally Parasite (The Faculty).

I'd seen The Faculty a few years ago and never made the connection that it is a Robert Rodriguez movie. Apparently his new movie Alita is released here on December 21st. I wonder if that date will be honoured for it has been bumped to February stateside.

I have seen a preview for it. Intriguing.

My "birthday" is now over and you may have noticed that the term Halloween has crept into this entry. Be sure to check out my "Countdown to Halloween 2018" starting on October 1st!

Onigashima, Onegaishimasu.

One of these days, I'd like to check out Megishima, the purported home of the Oni (Ogres) popularized in the story of Momotarou. Most of my kiddies have now given their presentations and I have several paintings of Onigashima for your perusal.

Hmm, I detect a recurring theme here.

I didn't get pics of all the residents of this isle, but here are a handful.

 

The protagonist of the story includes the hero, Momotarou. A few troupes included a female version, Momochan.

This particular hero was Mushroom-tarou, an odd mix of creepy, cool and cute.

Traditionally, Momotarou's companions are a dog, a monkey and a pheasant. They were all pretty generic so I encouraged the lads and lasses to draw alternative animals. Such as...

One group went with an all bird team of Eagle, Pigeon and Hawk !

I have a few more presentations this week, if I get any good masks, I'll share them here.