My mother made loquat tinctures for the last 20 years of her life.
As long as I remember, my mother had a weak immune system from a young age and was not able to get up in the morning to make breakfast. She could not gain weight for many years and sleep well.
My mother was in pain all over her body and took a lot of prescription drugs, so she may have always been looking for what she could do to improve her health.
My mother tried many recommendations from her friends, neighbors, and local news sources, but nothing helped her.
For example, eating prunes, drinking noni juice, eating more meat and only chicken to gain weight, buying expensive electric blankets, worshiping a group of people and buying white china from them for a lot of money. The group told her that worshiping it would improve her health.
I had already been practicing macrobiotics and knew that it would not improve her health, but since I lived far away overseas, I always listened to her with love. When I returned to Japan, I cooked a hearty macrobiotic meal for her. As I did this, my mother’s health started to improve, so I found someone to cook macrobiotic meals for her several times a week, and my mother’s mindset became more positive and she stopped trying so many different things.
One day, my mother called me to tell me that her pain was relieved and she was able to sleep better thanks to the loquat leaf moxibustion and loquat leaf tincture (extract).
Shortly after that, my mother received some loquat leaves from a friend and started making her own loquat leaf tincture.
She got loquat leaves from her friends and made loquat tincture herself.
To make a tincture, she had to separate the leaves from blanches, clean each, cut them, and put them in a glass bottle with shochu.
It was lots of work, but she was determined to make it. She was tired but enjoyed the aroma of loquat leaves and looked vibrant in the photo she sent me.
Viblant my mother after she started to make Loquat tincture and using it.
She even planted a loquat tree in her yard. She told me if there is a loquat tree in America I need to plant it, too.
Fortunately, there was a large loquat tree next door to the house I moved into around that time (where I still live today), and I received a loquat seedling from there, which I planted in my garden 30 years ago.
My mother many bottles of Loquat tinctures and sent me her loquat tincture many times, and I have used it all for me, my husband, animal family, friends, and clients.
I started to make my own when my loquat tree got big enough.
Making tincture is a gift my mother gave me; I want to share the gift that my mother gave me with as many people as possible. Now I make many other different tinctures.
After I decided to offer this workshop, I remembered that when I was about 3 years old, my grandmother took me to the mountains of Mie to forage wild mushrooms and medicinal plants. My grandmother was a healer. I finally understand why I am so drawn to the power of nature and healing work.
The life I genuinely dedicate is to honoring and healing the great force of nature with my body, soul, and spirit and helping others and their animal families heal as well.
I am grateful to JACCC Emi Osaki for giving me an opportunity to teach the Japanese Tincture Making Workshop.
Here is the detail of the workshop:
Join JACCC and Sustainable Little Tokyo for an immersive, hands-on workshop where you’ll explore the art of crafting botanical tinctures using Japanese loquat leaves and aromatic pine needles. Experience their unique scents, learn how to safely apply them to your skin, and create your personalized tinctures to take home. Along the way, you’ll gain insight into these plants’ numerous benefits and traditional uses while also mastering techniques that will empower you to make tinctures with herbs from your garden.
When: Sun, Oct 27, 2024, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Where: Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center
244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Price: Free with RSVP (donations encouraged)
Japanese Botanical Tincture-Making Workshop