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Yuzen, batik, tie-dye, stencil dyeing, kasuri, jacquard weave, embroidery: the techniques of dyeing and weaving fabrics for Kimono and Obi, the most famous Japanese traditional garments, are numerous and extremely diverse. Climate conditions, historical changes and different local cultures have produced a wide range of specific “métiers d’art” connected with these activities, which are unique in the world. One of the most sophisticated traditional techniques is Yuzen-dyeing. Established at the beginning of the Edo era, in the 17th century, it is still the most representative dyeing method of Japan: no foreign influences (from Korea or China, for instance) have ever been traced, and historians agree in acknowledging that Yuzen was invented and developed in Kyoto by painter Yuzensai Miyazaki. And despite the innovation, mechanization and changes brought along during the Taisho and Showa eras, this ancient handcraft is still passed on from one generation to the next. Yuzen-dyeing is an extremely complex process: over 20 steps (design, sketching, copy, drawing, Itome -thread line- gluing, brush dyeing, steaming, soaking, colouring, washing, ironing...) are necessary to complete each single Kimono, and every step has to be performed flawlessly and meticulously. Among the different Yuzen techniques, the most peculiar is called Makinori. Small particles of rice paste are sprinkled on the cloth, prior to and between applications of the background colours, to create a mottled effect. And one of the most world-acknowledged masters of Makinori is the Kyoto-based Kunihiko Moriguchi, who was designated “National
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OVER 20 STEPS ARE NECESSARY TO COMPLETE EACH SINGLE KIMONO
Top, Moriguchi creating one of his geometrical designs. Opposite page, “Minori” (Fruitfulness) yuzen Ho- mongi kimono created for the 60th Japan Traditional Arts Crafts Exhibition (2013).
Living Treasure” in 2007. His father, Kako Moriguchi (1909-2008), had been honoured with the same acknowledgment too. So, even if for just a short period of time, both father and son were “National Living Treasures”: an unprecedented circumstance in the field of Japanese traditional crafts. After Kunihiko Moriguchi graduated at the Japanese Painting Department of the Kyoto City University of Arts in 1963, he went on to study graphic design at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris. A precious but short experience: Moriguchi returned to Kyoto in 1966, to learn the secrets of the traditional Yuzen technique from his father Kako, and to follow in his footsteps. Such a life-changing choice was mainly due to Kunihiko’s encounter with the French painter Balthasar Michel Klossowski de Rola. “You were born in a family which excels in the Yuzen technique,” the painter told him. “You should return to your home and continue with the family business. Rather than to live according to your individual desire, you should find the value of the individual living in the history of your culture.” As Moriguchi still recalls, “those words touched my heart.” During his short spell in Paris, he learned other important lessons: to respect originality, for instance. “Original” is something that can only come from you: what has already been done before is not original. Feeling he could not surpass his father, he decided to create his own style. And Kako agreed. While his father was known for his fine and bold design and for the brilliant Yuzen in the motifs of flowers and birds of the advanced Makinori (sprinkled rice paste) technique, Kunihiko
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