Dispatch No. 003: A thousand cranes, one very important traveler, and the beginning of a wish.
A Letter Home From Japan
Tokyo, Japan · June 29, 1958
Somewhere between Tokyo, a tea ceremony and one thousand carefully folded cranes, Katharine found time to send a letter home.
One Thousand Cranes & One Very Important Wish
In Japan, the crane symbolizes longevity, happiness and good fortune. According to tradition, folding one thousand origami cranes—known as senbazuru—may grant the folder a wish, often connected to hope, healing, or a long and happy life.
Every crane surrounding Kitty was folded by Katharine.
One careful fold at a time, brightly patterned paper became wings. Wings became strands. And one thousand individual cranes became one extraordinary act of patience, devotion and hope.
Kitty, naturally, accepted her place beneath them as though one thousand cranes had been folded expressly for her arrival.
Whether a wish was made remains classified information.
Dressed for Tea
Preparing for a Japanese tea ceremony requires considerably more expertise than simply putting on a pretty dress.
For a traditional tea ceremony, Katharine was carefully wrapped, layered, tucked and tied into her kimono—a considerably more complicated undertaking than simply putting on a beautiful dress. The wide obi wrapped around her waist required its own elaborate arrangement, and even the shoes demanded an entirely new relationship with balance and grace.
Kitty’s preparations were less strenuous. Her ensemble was completed with a kanzashi flower, a traditional Japanese hair ornament which she wore with such distinction that, according to Ooset, the rest of the travelers may never hear the end of it.
Together, they took their places beneath the cranes: Katharine beautifully dressed for tea and Kitty looking entirely certain the ceremony had been arranged in her honor.
Nothing Here Was Accidental
The care Katharine put into dressing for tea extended to everything surrounding them.
Behind Kitty is a tokonoma, a traditional Japanese alcove reserved for displaying a hanging scroll, flowers and carefully selected objects.
Katharine chose a scroll depicting two dogs—an especially perfect detail for an expedition set in 1958, the Year of the Dog. More precisely, the Year of the Earth Dog began on February 18, 1958, well before the travelers reached Japan that summer. Dogs born beneath this sign are traditionally associated with loyalty and honesty, which seems a remarkably suitable bit of celestial planning for the Floofy Newfie World Tour.
At the base of the display, one small paper crane rests beside the orchid. Both are reflected in the dark surface beneath them—the crane carrying wishes of happiness and long life, the living orchid rising beside it.
Even the quietest corner of Kitty’s portrait had a story to tell.
Lost in the Bamboo Forest
After tea, Kitty exchanged tradition and tatami for the towering green corridors of a Japanese bamboo forest.
The travelers arrived with a map and every confidence that they knew exactly where they were going.
They did not.
The map was unfolded. Directions were debated. Routes were traced—and the bamboo began to look suspiciously alike in every direction.
Kitty leaned in to supervise, but even with two highly qualified travelers studying the problem, no one could determine precisely where they were.
Fortunately, getting a little lost is often where the best adventures begin.
Not in Kansas Anymore
Somewhere beyond the unhelpful map, the bustle of Tokyo seemed to fall away.
This was exactly the contradiction Katharine had written about—a city busy beyond belief, yet filled with quiet places that appeared as if from a fairy tale.
Surrounded by towering bamboo and one thousand colorful cranes, Kitty surveyed this strange new forest with the composure of a remarkably well-traveled Newfoundland.
Just like Dorothy, she knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
Down the Quiet Path
Katharine had written of ladies in kimono carrying parasols along quiet paths toward ancient shrines.
And so, beneath a parasol painted with cranes, Katharine and Kitty continued into the bamboo—past one thousand folded wishes and toward whatever waited around the next bend.
For now, the Official Pupparazzi could only watch them disappear down the path.
The Story Behind the Dispatch
Every World Tour dispatch has two stories: the adventure as it appeared in the family album—and the considerably less composed version witnessed by the Official Pupparazzi.
The previous dispatch took the travelers through the tulips of Holland. Japan required one thousand hand-folded cranes, a rather formidable obi, Kitty’s celebrated kanzashi flower, one thoroughly unhelpful map and a bamboo forest tucked away in Oregon.
Come behind the scenes for the story of how Kitty’s journey to Japan came to life—and read the latest report from Ooset, who wrested control of the family narrative somewhere between Tokyo and Kyoto.
Next Stop: Provence
Kitty’s journey through Japan had come to an end, but the Floofy Newfie World Tour is far from over.
The next dispatch will arrive from the lavender fields of Provence—where a young artist known as Antonio was searching for something beautiful to paint.
He was about to find her.