Yesterday, I attended my regular porcelain painting lesson in Kyoto. Currently, I've been working on 呉州赤絵 (gosuakae, Swatow ware) and I enjoyed painting a mug and a plate. I still need to add more colors, but I'm already quite satisfied with them. I can imagine they'll turn out beautifully through my experiences.

One of my friends from Nara joined our class yesterday, and we painted together. After the lesson, she gave me a plant, which is on the Red List. It's called ハンショウズル (hanshouzuru) in Japanese, and it blooms adorable, bell shaped, reddish-purple flowers in early summer.

According to her, this plant has been designated as a rare plant in Nara Prefecture. It's a type of Clematis, which you don't usually find at garden centers. Hanshouzuru used to be seen in lush forests, but due to forest development and climate change, it has become extremely rare. She took one from her garden.

When I received it, I felt a strong sense of responsibility to protect this plant. I still don't know if my garden will be a suitable place for it, but I truly want to cherish it and take good care of it. I look forward to seeing its cute flowers next year.

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