The KURA gallery of ISSEY MIYAKE KYOTO presents KURA Exhibition “Resist Dyeing & Brushing Weave Pattern—Kyoto’s Craftsmanship.”

KURA Exhibition “Resist Dyeing & Brushing Weave Pattern—Kyoto’s Craftsmanship”

“Tightening” is a pattern that emerges by dyeing a part of the cloth while resist-dyeing it. “Kasuri” is a pattern that is created by assembling warp threads that have been dyed in advance. ISSEY MIYAKE has learned deeply from these traditional techniques, which have given rich expression to Japanese fabrics and clothing, and the craftsmanship of the craftsmen who handle them.
In this exhibition, we will introduce two craftsmen who have inherited the techniques of “jime” and “kasuri” in Kyoto, where history and traditional culture are still alive.
The first is Kazuo Shigeno, a dyeing craftsman. Shigeno, a traditional Kyoto Kanoko Shibori craftsman, has inherited various dyeing techniques such as tying and binding, and is one of the few craftsmen who can manipulate itajime introduced in this exhibition.
The second is Ikuko Kasai, who inherits the kasuri technique that was originally developed in Nishijin, Kyoto. Kasai learned from Nishijin Kasuri, which creates patterns by shifting the warp threads, and based on precise calculations, rearranges more than 10,000 threads with his fingertips to create unique, hazy patterns.

We hope that this exhibition will serve as an opportunity to rediscover the outstanding skills of craftsmen and the attractiveness of the patterns created by them.