January 2011

Dear readers,

I would like to welcome you to this new year on behalf of ESTATE. I hope you have digested the last of the Christmas sweets, carp and snacks, and are ready to step refreshed into the eleventh year of the 21st century. What awaits you in it? I bet everyone asks that at the start of each year.

In Japan, we pride ourselves on symbolism a lot. We believe that things are not the way they may seem at first sight, and that they have hidden meanings. It is no coincidence that our national flag is dominated by a red circle symbolizing the sun and that we make origami as a symbol of hope and longevity. That is why I became interested in what exactly number 11 – the number of this coming year – means. According to Christian mythology, eleven is the number of sin as it goes beyond the ten commandments. Others say it is a sign of disharmony because it lacks one to the ideal, symbolic number twelve. However, three or more ones in a date are said to herald the advent of something new. We can therefore expect many engaged couples to have their wedding on 11/1 2011, 11/6 2011, 1/11 2011, and so on. Although symbolism has not endowed number 11 with many positive features, I hope this year will be happy, full of success and joy for you personally. Your joy may also stem from reading ESTATE magazine, which will try another year to bring you lots of news, interesting articles and pleasant reading.