Normally, she would not return home from work until after 9pm.
The main reason she returned home after 6pm today was because it was her father Yohiko Ito’s 50th birthday.
She left work early in order to celebrate his birthday.
In the past, when Yohiko Ito celebrated his birthday, not only did the entire Ito family come to celebrate the occasion, but also the heads of many prestigious families in Tokyo.
However, since the amputation of his legs, Itohiko has been averse to such crowded occasions, so this year he celebrated his birthday with a simple dinner at home with his daughter, sister and loyal servant Tanaka Koichi.
When Nanaiko Ito entered, his aunt Emi Ito had just brought her servants and prepared a sumptuous table in the middle of the main hall, with two bottles of the finest 14th generation Ryusen sake for Yuuhiko Ito.
When she saw that Nanaeko Ito had returned, Emi Ito said with a smile, “Nanaeko, go to your father’s room and ask him to come out, the meal is all prepared and you are back, so you can start.”
“Yes Auntie.” Nanaeko Ito nodded gently, then asked in a low voice, “Auntie, is Lord Father in a good mood?”
“Fine.” Emi Ito smiled, “He was a little sullen at lunchtime, but Tanaka came over this afternoon to feed the koi with him and the two of them played pool, and he seems to be doing better, just now he said he was a little tired and wanted to go to his room to rest for a while, and said he would call him when you arrived.”
“Good.” Nanaeko Ito sighed softly and said, “I’ll go get him then.”
Emi Ito instructed, “Go and change into your kimono first, don’t forget your father’s character, the whole mansion has changed into wabi-sabi clothing today.”
Nanaeko Ito slapped her head, “I almost forgot …… I’m going to change!”
Japan as a nation is, in some ways, an oxymoron where water and fire coexist.
In the whole of Asia, Japan is the most westernised, a country where office workers wear suits and ties all year round, even in the hottest of weather, but they are also one of the countries that have retained their traditional culture most thoroughly.
Yohiko Ito, for example, is almost exclusively suited in public, and even more Western than the British, but when he is away from business he prefers to live in a traditional Japanese manor house, and on major holidays wears only tatami hakama at home.
The hakama, like the kimono worn by Japanese women, is a traditional garment of the highest status in Japan.
Although she used to dress in a normal, modern Western style for most of her schooling, competitions and work, Nana-chan is still required to change into a kimono for major festivals because of family tradition.
Back in her room, Nadeshiko chose a plain white kimono and, with the help of two personal maids, put it on, complete with the matching accessories.
After all, Nadeshiko is known as the most beautiful woman in Japan, and when she puts on the traditional Japanese kimono, her unparalleled beauty and quiet virginity are brought to the fore.
The maid who was girding her waist could not help but exclaim, “Miss looks so beautiful in a kimono, if she gets married in a kimono in the future, she will surely amaze the whole of Japan!”
Ito Nanaeko looked at herself in the mirror and said shyly, “Why do you have to wear a kimono to get married?”
The maid said in surprise, “His Excellency is so devoted to tradition, I’m sure he would be very angry if you didn’t wear a kimono for your wedding. Besides, I have always felt that we, Japanese women, look better in a kimono than in a wedding dress; after all, it is a traditional dress that has been pa*sed down to us for generations, and not only is it tailored for us, but it is also more in keeping with the temperament of our Japanese women.”
Nanaeko Ito blushed slightly and said, “Did you know that there is a Chinese wedding dress called the dragon and phoenix dress, which is also very beautiful.”