Longing for Totto-chan on New York's 5th Avenue: Fulfilling Her Wish Became the Best Memory of Our Lives as a Couple

It became the best memory of our lives as a family.

Hello.
I'm Ayaka.

Previously.
I wrote an article like this.

My daughter is currently 19 years old.
She will turn 20 next February.

Due to the revision of the Civil Code, the age of adulthood became 18 in April 2022, so my daughter is already an adult.

Since the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is still held in the fiscal year one turns 20, it will be next January. She says she doesn't intend to attend because she is studying abroad in LA.

Due to her own wishes and the hopes of Megane-san and myself, we had said that we really wanted to at least take photos in a furisode before she left for her study abroad, but we didn't have enough time and were unable to do the shoot.

In 2017, there was a photo that Tetsuko Kuroyanagi posted on Instagram.

I had been following Tetsuko Kuroyanagi since she started Instagram. I fell in love with the cute Tetsuko who was different from the one I saw on TV.

And I was captivated by this photo.
Even though it must be a photo from decades ago, how wonderful it is.

Tetsuko was so beautiful and cool.
My daughter and I stared at it together.

From that day on, this single photo was burned into her mind.
Back then, she wasn't even thinking about studying abroad at all.
"Someday, I want to take a photo in the same spot too."
She kept saying things like that.

This summer, my daughter's friend H-chan is graduating from college and returning to Japan. They decided to go to New York for a graduation trip together, and H-chan offered to accompany my daughter for the photo shoot because it would be a great memento.

The kimono rental, dressing, and photography were booked through this place that my daughter found.
The owner seems to be Japanese, and although my daughter handled all the arrangements, they responded politely to questions from me through my daughter, and I had a very good impression of them.

From the furisode available for rent there, my daughter first chose a few she liked, sent me the photos, and I decided on the one I thought would suit her best.

I'm not there in person, and I haven't seen my daughter for a year.
My impression of her is frozen in time, so the color and pattern I chose might not necessarily suit her now. But I felt happy, as if I had been allowed to fulfill something I had always wished for.

From 19 years ago when I gave birth to her until today.
I wonder if the day will come when I choose a furisode for her Coming-of-Age Ceremony...
I used to think about things like that vaguely.

What kind of woman will she become, and what colors and patterns will suit her?
Times change, and maybe by the time she comes of age, no one will wear furisode anymore.
I wonder if my mother thought about things like that too.

Or so I say.

I had a furisode made for me, but my mother gave it to my cousin, so I don't have it anymore.
I really liked that furisode.
If I still had it, I definitely would have had my daughter wear it.

Now that I'm older, I truly understand how my parents felt when they gave me that furisode.
I didn't understand it at all back then.

I didn't have strong feelings about my own coming-of-age ceremony at the time, but when it comes to my own child, I naturally feel strongly about it.
I suppose 'a child coming of age' is something special for parents. After all, it's proof of how far we've come as parents.

And she, too, will live her life taking responsibility for herself.

I couldn't have a furisode made for my daughter like my parents did for me, and I couldn't be by her side to help choose one.
But I was able to fulfill her wish of 'wearing a furisode in New York.'

Maybe 'I was able to fulfill it' is a bit presumptuous.
Perhaps 'I was allowed to fulfill it' is more accurate.

My daughter on New York's Fifth Avenue.

The models are different, so please keep that in mind.
The focus is on my daughter, so the scenery isn't as sharp as in Totto-chan's photo, but still.

Fifth Avenue, then and now.
Totto-chan was wonderful, but isn't my daughter wonderful too? It suits her so well. I just knew red was the right choice.

I certainly never imagined a future where my daughter would wear a furisode overseas.
Thanks to my daughter's passion for wanting to take photos in this specific place, my husband and I were able to have a wonderful experience as well.

There are many forms of 'coming-of-age ceremonies.'
There's no rule saying it has to be a certain way, and this was the best form for our family right now.

In our lives as a couple,
this was the best purchase ever.

That's what my husband and I said to each other.

After all.
We were able to capture so many photos of her looking that happy.

It's a treasure for a lifetime.
Forever and ever.

Well then.
Thank you for reading until the end.
Bye-nara