Miharu-koma

Today two young people (twelve year olds) visited from Fukushima to see the garden in Holland Park that was created to commemorate the Japanese gratitude for the assistance provided by the British last year after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

They are the second party that has brought with them a traditional toy from the Fukushima region: the first gift was an Akabeko (red ox) and today's was a very handsome black Miharu-koma (horse).

I love the stories behind these toys which are not just given as playthings but also as a talisman against misfortune and (if cared for) source of good luck. The first is obviously tao in origin but the latter more confucian and a method of teaching children to care for their worldly goods.

I admire the simplicity of their toys and as I look at these two with their unblemished lacquer and paintwork, my mind is cast back to the exhibition I saw last year that had on display a small collection of very simple wooden dolls that had been found in the rubble left behind by the tsunami waters. In their utter simplicity there was a discernible poverty that told much of the dolls' creator and child or children who must have loved them as only a child can.

Buddhism attaches great importance to the wealth that is to be found in worldly poverty and 'original mind'. In a simple child's toy there is a reminder that we can find enlightenment by adopting a child's mind.