That’s the title of a song from one of the kids’ favorite shows ‘The Backyardigans’, however I’m not discussing the show today, but rather the cool exhibit we went to see at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco: Lords of The Samurai.  It was so easy to get to – we left around 10 and were back home by 12:30 and in time for lunch. A truly whirlwind trip.  We parked at a meter outside and then swanned on in to the museum. 

 

Here’s a representation of one of the costumes, above. It doesn’t do it justice, really. One of the helmets on exhibit had mock horns made out of bronze that were about 4.5 feet long that curved behind it.  And they were so colorful, unlike Darth Vader in the picture above!  Here’s what I’m talking about:

    

Pretty cool, eh?  The kids thought so, too, but what they REALLY loved, and couldn’t get enough of were the Japanese buildings.  There was a teahouse (just for viewing) and a daimyo that was interactive.   Here’s Lena at the daimyo, or study, of the samurai (it’s kind of hard to see with all the other people):

I explained to the kids how the Japanese have long infused daily rituals with beauty and meaning, from pouring tea to preparing lunch boxes, etc.  Lena expressed how she’d like to live like that (in harmonious and uncluttered surroundings).  I had to bite my tongue!

Here’s what the daimyo looks like without the crowd:

 

Cole did some Japanese calligraphy on a scroll:

          (the finished product at left)

 

And for good measure, here’s a picture of my two samurais.  We’ll have the helmet with the horns, please.