• 【染織の世界へ】

  振り返ってみると様々のきっかけがあった。環境であったり、周囲の人やモノとの出合いであったり。共通していることは美しいモノへの驚きと興味、そして共感。こんな思いを持ち続けて来たことが全てに繋がっていると感じている。小さい時から身の回りの手に入る素材を自由に使って何かしらつくっては人に見せていた。何かをつくり出すことは自分にとって果てしない喜びであった。そして祖母や毋の装う着物の美しさ、バランスを面白いモノとして視ていたかもしれない。美しいモノには、自然の神秘と、人間の知恵と技術がそこに伴うことを知り始めた。技術を伴うつくり手としての作業をやってみたいと考えるようになったのは随分後のことである。コプト織や、正倉院の古代裂地を目にした時のその文様の面白さ、美しさはいったい誰がどうやって？！と。それが染織であったということだろうか。その後、古物修復という技術にも興味を持つが、やはり自分でつくりたい気持ちが先行していた。当時の住まいに近い江戸小紋の工房を訪ね「女は糊板を運ぶ力が無いからだめだ。と断られたりもした。そして、柚木沙弥郎の作品との出合いである。色彩の美しさ、そして何より文様のリズム感の楽しさ。こんな作品をつくりたい、この人に習いたいと思いこんだ。これが今に繋がる一番のきかっけである。柚木沙弥郎氏が当時教授であった女子美工芸科に入学。ここで学んだ織り、染めの基礎技法は、現在のアレンジ技法の基礎となる大切なものだ。中でも型紙と糊がつくり出す不思議、裂地の風合い、染み込み発色する染料の色彩の美しさ、文様の連続する面白さに惹かれた。そして注染技法の作品制作にすっかりはまり込み、思えば只ひたすら作業を楽しんでいた幸せな時期である。4年後京芸大学院へ、この時京都へ移り住み今に至る。ここでの2年間は、それまでつくることの楽しさだけに浸っていた自身が表現するということは、その意味とは何なのかを大いに悩み、考え込んだ時期である。染織を学び始めて30年近くになる今も変わらないものは、染めの作業を通してモノつくりを楽しんでいること、そして人間にはモノをつくりたいという欲求が元々備わっていると実感を持ち続けていることである。

  My first step to Textile Dyeing World

  It all started from my childhood. My grandmother wore Kimonos in her everyday life. Having originated in Japan, the Kimono is an artistic piece of dyed clothing. I was fascinated by Kimonos’ shades and patterns not found in modern clothes. And I liked the silky texture which feels pleasant against the skin. Gradually I began to understand there are a lot of lovely things in my surroundings and started to make pretty things with common materials such as fabrics and papers. It was an immense pleasure for me to make something special and show it to my family and friends. In this process I started to learn beautiful things would be made with mystery of nature in addition to human wisdom and techniques.
  It was my high school days when I decided to establish my career as an art creator. I got the chance to see the Coptic weavings at an exhibition and the ancient clothing housed in the Shosoin Repository. Even now, I can remember the strong impression I received at that time. I was impressed with their fantastic color and design. I wondered about who and how made it? It may be safe to say that I chosed the dyeing as my art expression medium by mere chance, but I feel it was a happy and fateful encounter in my life.
  After that, I visited an atelier of the Edo Komon. Edo is the ancient name of Tokyo and the Komon means “small pattern”. The special feature of the Edo Komon is the pattern that is consisted of tiny dots. I asked the master of the atelier for becoming his disciple, but he declined my request saying, “women have no power to bring a heavy board for dyeing”.
  One day, my life reached a turning point. It was the encounter with the works of Mr. Samiro Yunoki, one of the most famous craftsmen in the art of stencil dyeing in Japan. I was completely spellbound by the rhythmical pattern and vivid color of his works. I wished with my whole heart to learn from him and to make such art works by myself. Mr. Samiro Yunoki was at that time the professor at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Tokyo. After graduating from high school, I entered this university to learn how to weave fabric and how to dye clothes. The techniques I learned in the university years were fundamental ones, but they are still indispensable to my arrangement of design. I was amazed to see the miracles that stencils and starch paste could bring about. I dropped everything and just worked at weaving and dyeing. I realized that the texture of clothes, the chromogenic reaction during the dyeing process, and the interaction of patterns are three major factors of the stecil dyeing art. Anyway, “delight” is the most appropriate term that could describe my university life as a whole.
  Having spent very enjoyable and profitable four years at Joshibi University, I moved to Kyoto to do postgraduate studies at Kyoto City University of Art. These two years were not always delightful to me, since I began to have conflicted feelings about the purpose of my artistic expression. Why and how should I express myself through art? It is the question I have been asking to myself for the last three decades. I hold on to the notion that human beings might have a natural instinct of making things. It might be otherwise phrased as a kind of constructive impulse. In any case, I am enjoying myself through dyeing and making things now.

• 【染織の魅力】

  その魅力は、世界中に気候風土や必要性から様々に人の手がつくり出したモノであること。手で触れて、また身に付けて様々な感覚で味わえるモノであること。それが一番の魅力であると思う。人間が培ってきた様々の知恵や思考や、心持ちのなかにモノを造るという行為は絶えず存在し続け、それは想像するというなんとも魅力的な世界である。そんな先人たちのへの共感の念と、様々の知恵と美の集結に対する尊敬の念とが染織に触れた時その思いが大きなものとなることを感じる。イカットの産地インドネシアのスンバ島を訪れる機会を得た。現代生活の中であらゆる問題を抱えつつも、その地域に土俗的に根付き歴史の中で変化、進化を続け受け継がれた技法と感性の醸し出す染織。その魅力は尽きない。そして私が制作を続ける場所として選ぶことになった京都にも他に類を見ない独特の技と美の集結が存在する。

  The Fascination of Dyeing Fabrics

  I notice that each people of the world has been dyed fabrics using their own proper method and materials. I visited Sumba Island in eastern Indonesia a few dacades ago. Sumba is famous for its Ikat (or Ikkat), a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles. Since Sumba Island is not a paradise as you might wrongly imagine, people there have a lot of common troubles in their ordinary lives. Nevertheless, or I should say therefore, their fabrics have a lot of charm beyond expression. Successive generations of Sumba people have never forgot to hand to their descendants their traditional techniques and designs and the feel of fabrics. The descendants have never ceased making innovative efforts in their turn. I understand the “Genius Loci” is the rootstock of the Sumba fabrics.
  Kyoto, where I live now, was formerly the imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years. We can see a lot of traditional items including fabrics. And I must say there is a special kind of aesthetic feelings in Kyoto. Also, I can feel the same kind of the Genius Loci as Sumba Island while living in Kyoto. These are the reasons I chose Kyoto as a place for my artistic activities.
  Sometimes we are are called as “homo faber”, which is the concept of humans being able to control the environment through tools. But making things by hand is more than that. We can have the wisdom and conception of our ancestors clearly in our eyes while making something with traditional techniques. In other words, it is a kind of communication between the past and the present through art. Also we may be able to build a bridge between the present and the future if we are mindful of the tradition and innovation of the art. The fabric dyeing is the art that is characterized by the harmonious combination of material and technique. If you lack respect for each of them, the fabric dyeing will be just an industry not a genuine art. Whenever I see and touch the hand dyed fabrics, I feel a strong respect for our ancestors coming up from my heart.

• 【インスピレーションの生まれるところ】

  日頃から何でもモノが並べて置かれているのを眺めることを好み、様々な色やカタチ、質感を持つモノとモノとの間隔、余白、連続性を見て楽しんでいる。それは日常のあらゆる空間に見つけることができる。建築物であったり、店先の野菜やくだもの、お鍋や器であったり。眺めつつ歩くとワクワクする。幸い京都は減りつつ在るとは言え町並み自体に、正に様々のモノがそうやって並んでいる。人間が自然から学び取りつくり出す人工物にはその使用目的以外にも役割があり、分解して表れた基盤をしばらくそうやって並べて眺めていると色やカタチの面白さを楽しむことができるのである。たまには視覚に入って欲しく無いモノも存在するのだが、これもまた並べ方次第で変わるかもしれない。こんな風に日頃モノを眺めている訳である。世の中の全てのモノが文様に見えてくればしめたものである。これがそのままデザインの原案となる訳では無いが、大袈裟にいえば自身が生まれてから体験したモノゴト全てが五感の何処かで記憶となり、制作しようとする時一つのルールとして登場するのである。多くの場合、作品が置かれる空間をどのような空気にしたいか、そこにはどのような裂地をどんな風に置きたいかを考える。選んだ裂地を前にして、風合いの中の色彩の居心地（色をのせるバランス）を決めていく。それを考えつつ具体的なデザインを描きはじめる。モチーフはその時々に違っているが、色彩とカタチは同時に登場してくるので、色彩のバランスを見ていく内にカタチは自然と単純化される。その色にとってここち良いカタチを選んでいくと何かのカタチに見えてくる。気に入ったデザインは何度も組み合せをかえて登場する。これがここち良く色がのった裂地にするためのデザイン作業である。発色を促す裂地選びにもまた拘っている。

  Where to find inspiration for designs

  I like watching any items displayed either in order or out of order. I pay attention to the color, the shape, and the texture of an item. The relation between items also comes into my mind ---spacing, continuity and so on. Strolling down the street, I can find a lot of fascinating things such as pans, plates, fruits and vegetables at storefronts. In short, these small things are the main sources of my inspiration, but the houses in town often capture my mind. Luckily enough, we still have lots of traditional houses in Kyoto. Their distinctive feature is “open to nature”. The main materials used are wood, earth, and paper.
  Needless to say, each item has its own purpose. But if you break it up into constituent elements, you can find other aspects of the item. The color or the shape emerges by itself moving away from the original purpose of the item. Although this kind of mere color and shape will not lead directly to the design of my artwork, it is my ingrained habit to mine visual memories from the past when I start to make the artworks. This is the secret of my getting the inspiration.
  First of all, I consider what kind of atmosphere I should create with my artwork. In this stage, the color is the key factor. Picking up the fabric and feeling the texture with my hands, I choose in my mind the proper colors that should match the basic color of the fabric.
  Designing the pattern is the next stage. I use various kinds of motifs in my artwork, but the color and the shape of a motif usually come together into in my mind. Having considered the color balance of motifs, I can fix the shape of each motif. The final shape tends to be rather simplified from what I originally imagined. Sometimes the color itself calls up the shape. In fact, I look for the most appropriate shape to the color.
  Since I don’t hesitate to repeat the shape of one motif, you might have a kind of deja vu when seeing my artworks. But then, please feel a new rhythm and harmony of the motifs as well as a sense of familiarity to them.
  Above is the process of my making artworks. I would like to add some words on fabric. Colors of dyed textile depend on fabric. If you choose inappropriate fabric for your dye art, you will be certainly disappointed with the result. So I spend a lot of time to select the fabric that suits to my color imagination.

• 【作品制作のテーマ】

  私は色彩による表現を楽しみ、その作品を通して多くの人の刺激となることを願って制作している。私は一貫して「PAZRUKA」（読みはpazuruka）と名付け作品の総称としている。様々に色や形が寄せ集まり、連続性をパズルの様つくり出す。その連続性には全く同じ物は無く新たな組み合わせを繰り返し生み出す、と言う意味を持つ造語である。私は自然界の繰り返しの中で、人々が培ってきた知恵への興味と尊敬を強く持っている。それは自然への不思議な思いや恐れでもあり、自分がなぜ日常的に繰り返す時間の流れの中に生きているのか、という不思議な思いでもある。モノの記憶・宇宙の記憶・人間の記憶とその繰り返し。世界にも自身にも完全はあり得ないこと。何か一つの答えを見つけようとするのではなく、私の視点は多くの記憶の中の一つに過ぎないことを内側に問いかけ続けることである。

  The key concept of my artwork

  Pazruka, a coinage of my own, is both the key concept and the collective term of my artworks. The word “Pazruka” consists of “puzzle” and “ka”. The “ka” is a postfix of Japanese, which is equivalent to “-ize” in English. So Pazruka is the word for “puzzlize” in English. I throw in various colors and shapes into one artwork. It’s like a puzzle, by which I wish to evoke viewer’s feeling of curiosity. The most important point of my puzzle, or Pazruka, is continuity. Continuity is not a dull repetition. Continuity is a synonym of tradition. Tradition means the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. I would like to express, within one artwork, the transmission of ideas or notions from motif to motif.
  I have enormous respect for the accumulated wisdom of the ages. I can imagine how people have acquired the profound wisdom in the eternal cycle of the nature. I also have a sense of awe before nature and I am always wondering the reason I exist as a very tiny being in the eternal return. The memories of small items, of human beings, and of the cosmos as a whole are all precious for me. The world is never the same as before. It changes from moment to moment. The World is never perfect, so am I.
  I will not look for the definite answer about the world. All I do is keep saying to myself that the universe does not exist as an entity, but it is only made up of memories. I wish the viewers of my artworks would share the secret of the universe with me.

• 【暖簾の制作について】

  暖簾制作は京菓子の大極殿本舗芝田さんとの出会いから始まった。京都市の指定文化財建造物に指定されている店鋪の暖簾制作の依頼を受け、驚きと期待を胸に、当主の芝田さんを尋ねた折に伺った言葉は印象深く残っている。六角通りの堂々とした構えに既にかけられている丸に「殿」の暖簾を前に、「ギャラリ−だと思って好きなものをつくって下さい。できれば新年から掛けたい。」芝田さんからの申し出はそれだけ。既に文句の付けようの無い正に用の美の結集を目の前に本当に私にできるものなのか、全く自信は無かったが私を全面的に信頼し、どんなものができてくるのかを楽しみにしてくださることに感動しつつ取り組んだ。正月の日輪の暖簾を一作目に、季節毎に5点の暖簾をつくらせていただいている。祇園祭の頃に掛かる朝顔暖簾は、客引き暖簾と別名も得た。雪降りの暖簾は京都市内町並み人気投票にて評価も得ている。1年を通し一つ一つの行事を迎えてはこなし、季節を大切に送ること。京都の雅と表される公家文化と町衆文化の継承である。私の暖簾の制作は、多くの人の目にふれる作品でありたいという思いと結びつく力を入れて取り組んでいる楽しい作業である。

  As a Noren artist

  Noren are traditional Japanese fabric dividers or curtains, hung between rooms, in doorways, or in windows. One day, I received a surprising request from the owner of the Daigokuden, a famous sweet store in Kyoto. The owner, Mr. Shibata, asked me to make Noren for his gorgeous store located on the Rokkaku Street in the heart of central Kyoto. His store is designated as a cultural property by Kyoto City.
  I went to the store to meet Mr. Shibata and to hear the details of his request. He said to me, “Please make whatever you want. You can consider this storefront as your own gallery. I wish I would hang your Noren from the coming new year. That’s it”.
  A traditional Noren was being hung in the doorway at the time. A large shop-logo was dyed in at the center of the Noren. I couldn’t find any other word to describe this Noren than “majestic”. Also the store building itself has the simple Japanese beauty. It is often called as “the beauty of necessity”. I wondered if I could add something special to these perfect surroundings. But, on the other hand, I felt deeply inspired by the words of Mr. Shibata. He placed his trust in me without any reservations. I made up my mind not to betray his wholehearted expectations.
  The main motif of my first Noren for the Daigokuden was Nichirin (the Sun). It is aptly hung at the storefront during the New Year season, since many people in Japan cerebrate the first sunrise of the New Year and pray for a wish or a decision of that year. Others than the Nichirin Noren, I made four Noren for different seasons. The Asagao (Japanese morning glory flower) Noren for the Gion Festival celebrated in July became very popular and are now called as Kyaku-Yose (guest inviting) shop sign. The Yukifuri (Snow Falling) Noren got a good turnout at a poll on the Kyoto cityscape.
  People in Kyoto honor the annual events in all sincerity. They cherish not only the seasons themselves but also the circle of the seasons. I understand this mentality comes from the fusion of the culture of the nobility and that of the townspeople. I wish I could become one of their numbers with my Noren artworks. I think, only then, I could feel the long tradition of this city, this country, and this world.

【本間 晴子 (Haruko Homma)略歴】

Haruko Hommma`s Biography