The Japan folk crafts museum, Osaka

Now The Japan folk crafts museum, Osaka (大阪日本民芸館) (Sorry, but only in Japanese) is now holding the special exhibition of Shoji Hamada (浜田庄司), a famous folk-art ceramist, in commemoration of the 30th year since his passing.




Shoji Hamada (1894 - 1978) was one of the main members of Mingei Movement started by Muneyoshi (or Soetsu) Yanagi. Mingei means 'folk crafts,' and this word was coined by Yanagi, too. .

"Yanagi Soetsu discovered beauty in everyday ordinary and utilitarian objects created by nameless and unknown craftsmen. According to Yanagi, utilitarian objects made by the common people are “beyond beauty and ugliness”." -From Wikipedia
More about Mingei movement, refer to HP of The Japan folk crafts museum (日本民芸館) in Tokyo.

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The Japan folk crafts museum, Osaka was established as one of the exhibitions of Japan World Exposition in 1970. And it stayed in the Expo park as a museum after the Expo.

The Expo park is between Kyoto and Osaka, on the way to Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport) marked with orange. The green cirle shows the place of Osaka city. To get to the museum, you can take Hanshin Line from the city center of both Osaka and Kyoto to Ibaraki Station, then take a bus to the Expo Land. From Itami Airport, you can directly get there by monorail.

I have been surprised that many foreign tourists to Japan showed their interests in Mingei Movement. (I'm afraid many Japanese kids don't know about this movement though..) Oh, another good place to meet Mingei is Kawai Kanjiro Museun in Kyoto.


If you have a chance & interst, please do visit them(*'-')b !!

Indigo dyeing （藍染体験） Part 2

So now, let's start indigo dyeing! The liquid in the barrels is colorant for dyeing. It has anmonical order...



First, we got to make a design on cloth. I chose a handkerchief, but you can choose it from a stole, a bag, a towel as well as a handkerchief('-'*)


They are the tools for making a design: clothespins, film canisters, small stones, rubber band, etc.


The places where the tools touch or nip wouldn't be dyed.

Are you ready? Then go for dyeing! The liquid with more bubbles is younger, meaning stronger. So if you prefer deep color, you'd better use younger one.



Souse the cloth in the colorant for about a minute, then rinse it with water. And repeat those works 3 or 4 times.



Do you think the color is deep enough? Then take the tools off.







And then,　dunk it in vinegar water.

Acid restores the color of indigo.




This one is my friend, Miya's work.

She's smart and always full of ideas.

Don't you feel it?




This one is Yuki's.

She's very organized,

and I can tell it from her design.





And this is mine!

(Sorry I'm not showing the whole design... I'm not artistic.)

They gave me a plastic bag & a seal to wrap.

It was fun, and I enjoyed it a lot(≧∇≦)b


By the way, Yamato-Koriyama is one of the best places for cherry-blossom viewing in Nara prefecture.

The ruin of Yamato-Koriyama castle is now a park with lots of cherry trees.

The season of cherry flower in Nara is in the beginning of April.


Why don't you come to Yamato-Koriyama to enjoy indigo dyeing, goldfish catching & cherry blossoms?
I may see you then(ﾟ∇^*)

Indigo dyeing （藍染体験） Part 1

It's been cold in Kyoto & Osaka these days, but we are expecting to have hot days from tomorrow. What a strange weather!

Today I introduce a craft center called 'Kon-ya（紺屋）'where we can experience 'indigo dyeing.' But I must explain where Kon-ya is. It's in Yamato-Koriyama city in Nara prefecture. It takes about 50 minutes from Kyoto and 20 minutes from Nara city by train.



In this map, red one in the north is Kyoto city, one in south is Yamato-Koriyama, and green on is Nara. (Blue one is Osaka city.)





Yamato-koriyama is a city famous for indigo dyeing & goldfish. You'd see goldfish everywhere. Why don't you try goldfish catching with the local kids ;)?


And here's Kon-ya.





Kon-ya(紺屋) used to be a tradesmen's house, and renovated by the city.

Now Kon-ya is managed by the tourist association of the city.


Once you enter, you'd see pieces of work of indio dyeing. You may feel you are in a different time... maybe in Edo period.


　

In the next article, I'm going to talk & show photos of indigo dyeing experience. See you soon♪(*￣ー￣)ｖ