Colors Alive - Fukumi Shimura - Hyôji Kitagawa
Hyôji Kitagawa
1,200 Years of Color
Photograhy by Kazuhiko Suzuki / Text by David Elliott, Director of the Mori Art Museum
I set off for Kyoto to interview my very first Living National Treasure of Japan about the abstract subject of "color." After a long taxi ride we reached a modest modern house—with both traditional Japanese and Western-style rooms—set in a small garden. I was ushered into the hall, removed my boots, and faced up to greet the master. I hadn't really known what to expect, but I later realized that my greatest fears were that he would be really old, dry as dust, desiccated, arrogant, totally uninterested in my opinions, and above all....boring.
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Parti-colored pattern created by polychrome threads.
Shokusei—a type of tsuzure weave.
Nishiki (silk brocade) of parti-colored tapestry weave Surplice worn by Emperor Shômu (reigned A.D. 724-749).
The structure of this weave comprises a brown foundation warp and 2 to 3 different colors of twisted wefts such as dark blue, green, yellow, white, brown, or red. The tsuzure (finger-nail tapestry) weaving technique has created a parti-colored pattern with polychrome threads. This textile reveals a beautiful finish without any distinction between front and back. The original fabric is preserved in the Shoso-in (the 8th-century treasure repository housing precious ornamental and fine art objects at Nara).
(Reproduced by Heirô Kitagawa, the 17th head of the Tawaraya) |
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Nothing could have been further from the truth. Hyôji Kitagawa is probably not so young, but he is youthful in appearance and step, with piercing eyes and, in a modest grey-brown kimono, dressed like a Jedi knight. With him I spent an entrancing day in the world of textiles and, in the process, learned not only a great deal about the traditions and techniques within which he works, but also about the contemporary difficulties and dilemmas of actually being a Living National Treasure.
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This sumptuous textile is also a type of ra, called ra-nishiki (literally, complex gauze brocade). Gauze with gold weft bears motifs of peony-scroll and lingering cloud. It presents a more substantial look than other types of ra because the warps used are dense and concentrated. The original fabric was produced in China during the Ming Dynasty, around the 15th century.
(Reproduced by Heirô Kitagawa) |
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Hyôji Kitagawa
Born in Kyoto, Kitagawa has been honored by his country as a Living National Treasure. He is the 18th-generation head of the Tawaraya. As the second son of Heirô Kitagawa (1898-1988), he succeeded his father as holder of this important intangible cultural property.
David Elliott
Born in England, Elliott is the first director of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, opening on October 18, 2003. He has served as director of the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford, England, and also directed the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Sweden. Since 1998, he has been President of CIMAM (International Committee of ICOM for Museums and Collections of Modern Art). |
