“Where is your North Star?” he asks me. “Keep your eye on it when you write.” “I am trying to find one through my interviews!” I say. I was sensing where he was going, and wanted to wriggle out of the gravity of it. “Well, you can always find it in the sky if you...
English follows... 参加作家紹介：ツグミノエダ 『縫いもの』 彼女が針と糸に出合って、日々布と対話をするうちに、天職に気づいてしまい、いつしか図書館の仕事も辞めてしまい、今のツグミノエダになるまでを、そばで見てきました。 使い込まれて柔らかくなった布が綻びそうなギリギリを小さな宝石みたいな糸の玉が留めていく。 Art Beyond Intention...
Where the biggest change takes place A phrase used in an astrology reading like “a big change is coming for you” stirs the image of an external force coming to uproot me from my everyday life to unknown territory. It does sound exciting. I would want to know how and...
What’s bigger than Ego How would you like to be remembered after you leave this planet? We all wonder at some point in our life. Leaving one’s legacy in a tangible form, statue, trophy, building or name on a street is a tempting idea. But what does that serve? ...
Spatula 7 years, Brush 3 years Senro Sato went to learn urushi lacquerware, also known as the japanning technique, at the age of 22. He had one year left to finish college, but his mentor Gonroku Matsuda (Living National Treasure) strongly advised him to go learn...
Here, I am reminded of the words of a Buddhist sculptor, who says it’s not him to give shape to a piece of wood: rather, his work is to help it manifest the shape hidden beneath, which has always existed within.
“I don’t need to worry about the ‘chosen ones,’ they naturally shine. I’m more interested in shedding light on those who otherwise will be forgotten.”
Yoshiko Munehiro, Weaver Yoshiko Munehiro grew up in a home where she was constantly surrounded by her father’s apprentices at work. Her father, Rikizo Munehiro, was a designated holder of an Intangible Cultural Property (also known as a Living National Treasure) for...
Sometimes, a single book can change the course of a life. For Taketsune Kubota, that book was E Kasuri—one of the first holistic study of a distinctive style of ikat textile that features more pictorial, expressive motifs than its geometric counterparts. At the time,...