Have you seen a mumsettia? They were apparently big sellers during the Christmas holidays this year in the United States. It is a poinsettia in a pot surrounded by white chrysanthemum plants. "It's lovely and very Christmasy," a friend writes. We will probably have them here next year.
Have you noticed how each year the mini-poinsettia get smaller and smaller? The first article I wrote about Japan dealt with the Japanese penchant for making things smaller, a great asset now with tiny chips enlarging the possibility for miniaturized electronic products. The second was on "cuteness." Neither characteristic has changed over the years, except there are now more of both.
I have often marveled at the Japanese ability to create tiny things with their hands: early on, at a factory where women slit the tips of fountain pens, one after the other, each perfectly done, all day with no mistakes; and anyone (then and now) can fold tiny paper cranes, sometimes a thousand of them exactly alike, as a gift for some special blessing or just to keep busy.