Visiting Craftsmen – Kurume Kasuri: The World of Kurume Kasuri With Space and Free Ideas

Kurume Kasuri: Tanaka Toshihiro

Kurume Kasuri is an important intangible cultural property and has been designated as a traditional craft.

It has a history of more than 200 years and is characterized by “hand-filled”, “hon aizen” and “hand weaving”. In addition, it is a traditional craft that is said to have been devised by a girl, and it has come to be used habitually in clothes and interiors in addition to kimono.

How did you get into this world?

I’ve loved drawing since I was a child.

Mr. Tanaka’s father was a creator of Kurume Kasuri, and he had been close to him since he was a child.

Mr. Tanaka has loved drawing since he was a child, and he has been drawing portraits of his parents.

In junior college, I majored in art and learned to study sketching, and not only people but also flowers began to be drawn.

What I think after graduating from junior college

Even after graduating from junior college, Mr. Tanaka wanted to live freely for a while, but he reconsidered that it would be better to succeed his parents’ kurume kasuri, and decided to take over the family business immediately after graduation.

The design that Mr. Tanaka draws will also change. Originally, kurume kasuri was an abstract design, so Tanaka himself began to draw abstract paintings in his own senses.

Although it was a different way of drawing than what he had drawn when he was in junior college, Mr. Tanaka found his own way in abstract paintings.

In the world of Kurume Kasuri

Cramped world view

The traditional design of Kurume Kasuri is to pattern the same pattern. The number used for motifs varies depending on the creator, but it is common to draw it with a full of fabric.

In fact, Mr. Tanaka’s father’s work also incorporates traditional styles.

However, this design seems to have been cramped for Mr. Tanaka.

Mr. Tanaka kept strongly thinking that Kurume Kasuri could create a design with more space, and decided to create a new design.

Sharpen your senses

The old-fashioned Kurume Kasuri design is not bad at all, but Mr. Tanaka had the feeling that it should not remain like this.

Kurume Kasuri’s production process is a traditional style that cannot be destroyed. However, he thought that design could evolve.

The World Tanaka Feels

The world of three-dimensional wind

It takes more space and does not spoil the traditional kurume kasuri tradition. This kimono was created with that in mind.

The wind is the motif of this kimono.
I am particular about the pattern of the flower which draws the existence which is invisible to the eye only by my sense, and does not see from a distance.

Because the wind is a bright color, it seems to come out to the front, and the flower is dark color, so it looks like it is deep …

This work was also awarded the Okinawa Times Prize (Seibu Traditional Crafts Exhibition) in 2016. Mr. Tanaka’s works are not only wind, but also there are many water motifs.

Kurume Kasuri will continue to be made in the future

Works that value space

When I first created works that valued space, there were criticisms from others. Among them, only Mr. Tanaka’s father said, “You should like it.”

That’s why Mr. Tanaka believed in himself and has continued to make works so far. And the work that was made with an awareness of space was awarded, and it seems that it has finally come to be evaluated by the public.

It is important to preserve tradition, but it is the world’s usual that it is abolished only by protection. Mr. Tanaka may be trying to open up a new path for Kurume Kasuri because he knows it sensuously.

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Mr. Tanaka is currently exhibiting at the Kurume Kasuri Tanaka Kasuri Kobo Exhibition in Aoyama Square until November 2.

Please take this opportunity to come and see Mr. Tanaka’s work!