As a child, one of my favorite fairytales of all times is the Japanese tale of The Spider Weaver.

I lived on Okinawa, Japan, for six years as a young child, and it influenced a lot of who I am even today. I remember lounging on my futon reading Florence Sakade's English translation of The Spider Weaver and tracing with my finger Yoshisuke Kurosaki's gorgeous watercolors and inked illustrations that accompanied the story.

To be honest, the reason this story is one of my favorites had nothing to do with the story itself and everything to do with Kurosaki's illustrations! The Spider, in human form, was the most adorable girl... and I loved her kimono, because it was so similar to one of mine that I wore when my sisters and I did Ryukyu Dancing.

So... now many, many years later, I could not help but draw some of the illustrations myself.

I will probably go back, sometime, and touch up the inking... I discovered that I should not try to ink while lounging on my stomach and propped up on my elbows. It does not give the prettiest of lines.

Art © Jacquelyn Fisher. 11 February 2008.

Original Illustrations © Yoshisake Kurosaki