…or, Omotesando-dori Part II…

Oddly enough, clicked on tokyololas blog and noticed that my last post had disappeared for some reason – chalk it up to a ghost in the machine; it’s now back up, and here’s a follow-up.

As I continued my stroll along Omotesando-dori, a stuffed rabbit in a window caught my eye. I don’t know why, but, for some reason, taxidermy always stops me in my tracks and makes me gawk in awehorrorbewildermentdisbeliefamusement.

It was a bit of a “Fudge moment” (loosely translated for anyone who does not know “The Fudge“, it means that, if she were walking down the street, she would stop at exactly the same place and think exactly the same thing and want to take the exact same picture, or at least a mental snapshot that she could carry around and laugh about at some later date). I often have “Fudge moments”, but this one I am making public because it’s one of those bizarre Japan-Christmas things.

So, I am walking down the street and I look to my right and see a little bunny perched high up on a white wall. I should stop calling it a “bunny”, because it actually looks like a hare (and for any of you who are wondering or questioning – YES, there is a difference between a rabbit and a hare – it has to do with habitat, whether or not the newborn has fur, and, apparently, ear-length). Anyway, the bunnyhare is perched on top of what appears to be a family tree or some kind of tree-like assembly.

Upon closer examination, I realise that the “tree” is actually supposed to be roots (an inverted tree, as it were), and the roots all lead to what appears to be little burrow holes, and the burrow holes are all stuffed with all the boring things you might buy for any man in your life because you don’t know what else to get him (except the satchel in the upper left corner: it’s exempt for a variety of reasons I won’t go into here).

Perhaps the visual will help you:

I was having trouble sorting this Christmas-display-gone-awry mess, but, fortunately, there was more information to help me:

You probably can’t read this, so here’s most of it:

The long-awaited gift-giving season has come! You’ll find many Christmas trees sparkling everywhere, but what you see here is something different: “Christmas Roots.” Every tree needs to be firmly rooted in the ground to have beautiful needles on its branches. Accordingly, our display highlights the presence of roots, showing an underground network of thriving roots decorated with gifts and ornaments like a Christmas tree. Dunhill is always with its founders spirit, or its “roots”, and the current fast-moving pace of business makes us more determined than ever to respect and nurture that spirit. These Christmas Roots stand for what we have in mind.

The motifs for the cavities at the tips of the roots: Some motifs stand for images reminiscent of hunting in autumn/winter: a hare, a hunting hat, and gloves. Others represent bottles of Tanqueray No.10, the best gin for making a martini, and a cocktail glass.

The rest gives you a synopsis of Dunhill’s history…yadda…yadda…yadda…

You know, when you have to explain that much, you can be pretty sure your message isn’t registering…

I love that the burrows or holes or whatever are referred to as “cavities”! What’s with the random Tanqueray? Has anyone at Dunhill head office read this mess?

Anyway, this year, remember your Christmas roots: forget about the tree, just drag in a clump of roots and stick some taxidermy on top.