Kimono creating Atelier in Kyoto- Shi-kunshi koubou-②

(The story continues...) 



 

"Sacred bamboo" is vividly described on this kimono.
"Realistic depiction" is one of the characteristics of Japanese design.
I love this design and base purple color.

It is gorgeous...

"Night snow" is the motif of this kimono.

Of course you can order your original kimono if you visit here,

the price is less expensive than department store,they said.

Sometimes young girl's mother or father visit here to buy kimono for their daughter,for preparation of their daughter's marriage,they said.

 

Gentians and narcissus flowers.

They are real and vividly described.

Lovely kitten and orchid flowers.

I think this is peony.It is beautiful.

There are many variations of colors and designs here.

I found a wonderful picture.
Varieties of flowers are described vividely.
Japanese artists pursue "realism" fully. That is the essence of Japanese arts.


How to access
This Atelier is located in Kamigyo Ward,(Kamigyo-ku),Kyoto, near "Imadegawa-Jofukuji" bus stop.(5 minutes walk)
"Shi-kunshi koubou" is the name of the Atelier.

There is a parking.

If you enjoy my posts and Japanese arts,I'm very happy^ ^

Thank you for visiting.

Kimono creating Atelier in Kyoto - Shi-kunshi Koubou ①

I found an interesting Kimono Atelier in Kyoto.
"Shi-kunshi Koubou"（四君子　工房） is the name of this Atelier.
It means "Four wise man's atelier". There are 4 artisans here.
In this Atelier,people are creating Maiko kimono and private customer's kimono.
Let's go.

The inside of the Atelier.

It is very high-ceilinged and large room,

and there were many kimono exhibits.

I found an kimono artisan working.

His name is Tsuge Ittou.　

http://shikunshi.net/member/tsuge-ittou

His art works have won so many prize!

He has been working as kimono artisan since 1974!

He is a skillful,experienced kimono artisan.

It describes the scenery along the river.

He is going to dye this white cloth from now.

He uses so many painting tools!

As you see,there were so many beautiful clothes exbits here.

According to him,they are samples of Maiko's kimono.

So many designs! Which design to choose...

Fortunately,photos are permitted here,

so please enjoy these beautiful Maiko kimono designs below ^ ^

 

To be continued....
Because there are many other interesting arts here!
Thank you for always visiting my blog.

The spirit of a true artisanーYuzen atelier "You"

He is an experienced Yuzen kimono artisan,Mr.Yamada.

He also runs Yuzen kimono shop which I already mentioned in my blog before.

http://kumiko-yoshinoyama.blogspot.com/2011/01/yuzen-dyeing-atelier-you-gojoukyoto.html

I'd like to show you their work scene, more precisely than before.

(This is chinese legendaly general.)

What is he doing?

He is not drawing a picture. This is not a pen.

He is tracing the outline of the sketch by this tool (tube).

Actually, he is squeezing a paste out of this extra-fine tube! 

He is surrounding the outline by the paste. And this paste serves as a breakwater,as a protective wall.
This protective wall (made by paste) is necessary for him to prevent each color from blurring.

As you know,he needs to distinguish flower color from background color by using different colors.

If dyestuff blurs,run,spread, it spoils his work.

To prevent blurring is one of the most important work when they dye kimono.

We call this work (tracing the outline by paste using a tube) " Itomeoki".（糸目置き）

(This is kind of technical term.)

And please look at this picture.

This is interesting. What do you think he is doing?

He is covering the flowers,the leaves,the branches by wax,to prevent being blurred when he dyes.

He needs to hide these flower parts because he needs to dye background color first.
After background is dyed successfully,he wash this wax away.

Yamada said it needs extra high skill,because it is very difficult and delicate work.

And now another artisan is dyeing background color.

Now that he covered the flower parts beforehand,

he doesn't need to worry about being blurred by the dyestuff.

And their specialties are different.

They each took responsibility for one aspect of the work.

for example,coloring the background color,covering the flower part,etc...

And last,another artisan is coloring the flower parts.

It also needs high skill,

but he doesn't need to worry about being blurred,

because background color is already dyed perfectly.

This is how his beautiful Yuzen kimono is created.

Yuzen has a long history of 400 years,

Originally it started as a design of a folding fan,

but as time passed,people orderd these kind of designs for their kimono,

and fascinate many people even now.

I'm happy If I can tell you tips of Yuzen and experienced artisans.

Access

Please take subway (Karasuma line) from JR Kyoto,

and get off at "Gojo" station. (210yen / one-way)

This atelier is located near Gojo station,

it takes you about 3 minutes to go to this atelier.

Open daily except Monday,Tuesday and Sunday,

from am 9:30 to pm 5:00.

TEL 075-344-5067

http://some-u.com/

Atelier Dousen（道宣）ー Yuzen kimono Atelier (Kyoto)

  He is Mr.Murata Dousen.

He is Yuzen kimono creator(artisan) in Kyoto. He is 70 years old.

50 years have passed since he engaged in creating kimono.

He dyes kimono from starts to finish by himself,and he seldom assigns his task to other people,

because he is very particular about his works.

But he is kind enough to show me his atelier and his works.

There are so many brushes and tools he uses every days...

These are tools he uses habitually.

Most of these brushes are made by wool.

He starts his work from making a sketch outside.

For example,he goes to the mountains or rivers,

for making a sketch.

These sketches are important for his creation,

because these sketches are the basis of his kimono patterns.

Then he makes a drawing of kimono,reffering to his sketches.

This is his conception of finished kimono.

And he draws outline of flowers on a cloth.

Special water colors are used for this outline.

 

This is a roll of cloth for kimono(finished).

This is also his work.

Camellia and Japanese apricot designs are beautiful.

These kimonos are also his works.

It takes about 1 year to create a kimono.

Sometimes he stays up all night to finish his kimono.

His kimonos are full of originality.

His simple rough sketches turn into these beautiful kimono...

These works are the fruit of his great labor.

Yuzen Dyeing Atelierー Sensho Ichikawa （染匠市川株式会社）, Kyoto ②

In this room,artisans are coloring Yuzen.

She is coloring the seeds of ivy.

This is a cloth-convey system so that they can work smoothly.

Another woman is painting.

She is coloring buds of Japanese apricot.

This design is a combination of Japanese chrysanthemum,Japanese apricot,and fan.

This man is also painting.

He gives the cherry blossom a few finishing touches.

The closest attention is needed to draw fine line.

The cherry blossoms are described vividly.

This is a reference room.This room is like small library.

They refer to these books for drawing designs for a kimono.

These books are about ancient Japanese pictures.

These books are very expensive.

For example,they refer to this kind of ancient picture.

Yuzen kimono is created through long long processes.

It takes at least 2 months to create Yuzen kimono.

It is the product after their strenuous efforts.