Family trip to Suizenji Park, Kumamoto*

The Polar Bear Family have been on a fabulous trip to a park in Japan, called Suizenji Park 
(Suizen-ji jyojyuen, Suizen-ji Kouen).


Suizen-ji Jōju-en is a tsukiyama - a japanese garden - located  in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The main tsukiyama is a representation of Mount Fuji. Lord Hosokawa Tadatoshi began construction of the garden in 1636 as a tea retreat. The park was named after a no-longer-extant Buddhist temple called Suizen-ji. (Wikipedia).

Mum Pati and Dad Benjiro have taken the children out to see the garden.


 Botan Bear, also known as peony ( a beautiful flower) is wearing a kimono made of pretty Japanese fabric with lilac pink trimmings.




Bishamon Bear ( who has taken after his easy-going father as his name means "help") is wearing a Japanese kimono over a trousers and top combo edged with tan braid.

*Photo by by Chibotan.
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Benjiro the Bear

Benjiro the Bear is wearing a red kimono with a grey sash and headpiece.


His clothes are genuine Japanese material, the kimono is in two parts and is edged with thin bias binding.

Benjiro is a Japanese boy's name and it means peaceful/enjoy peace.


Because he is such a good natured bear he always lets Pati have the first choice of the fish.


He is standing in front of Mount Fuji (Fujiyama), a famous Japanese mountain.


This lovely picture comes from a site with great Japanese photographs at  http://homepage2.nifty.com/hsuzuki/english/

Here Pati the Polar Bear is wearing a kimono and traditional sash in genuine Japanese fabric...



Her name is a Japanese girl's name, it was from Finland and means "basket of fish".


Pati loves fish!






The kimono  is cut in one piece and edged with bias binding; the sash is japanese fabric mounted on a strip of bias binding. It is all fastened with velcro.


















She is standing in front of
Seiryuen Garden Nijo Castle, (picture from http://www.citypictures.org)

Frieda the Flapper

 Frieda the Flapper* is a stylish Polar  Bear dressed in a fringed shiny white dress with a beaded collar and matching hat. All dressed up, she is ready for a night on the town!

This outfit is a design inspired by Farrah.

Wikipedia says "Flapper dresses were straight and loose, leaving the arms bare (sometimes no straps at all) and dropping the waistline to the hips. Silk or rayon stockings were held up by garters. Skirts rose to just below the knee by 1927, allowing flashes of leg to be seen when a girl danced or walked through a breeze,although the way they danced made any long loose skirt flap up to show their legs "

Today's outfit is in subtle tones of blackberry and plum and is modelled by one of our newest family members, a rather dashing polar bear...

Hence there is almost a hint of the steppes about this outfit...

(This is a lilac dress with a pink bow for Hettie - Farrah's sparkly white dress in currently in production)