| Special Seminar at KURCPI |
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What's Coming Up?
- Special Research Seminar, 9 October 2018
17:00-18:30, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building , 5th
Floor
「Textile Prospecting and Kusakizome Alchemy: New Generation Dyers in Contemporary Rural Japan」
LINTON Charlotte (School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. University of Oxford)
Built on the foundations of traditional textile histories, kusakizome – dyeing with plant materials and naturally occurring mordents (fixing agents) – is increasingly returning as a standalone industry in rural locales across Japan. While historically, such techniques were mostly used for dyeing yarn for weaving, designers nationally and internationally are now commissioning the dyeing of fashion conscious clothing and interior objects and textiles, promoting the results as a natural alternative to harmful chemical colourants. In Amami Oshima, a new generation of dyer, mostly I-turn and U-turn migrants, lean on the authenticity and establishment of Oshima Tsumugi, the infamous but financially troubled locally produced kimono cloth to market the heritage of processes such as aizome (indigo) and dorozome (mud) to an outsider customer base. Concurrently, the ‘naturalness’ of kusakizome techniques, and their material constituents are built into a verbal and visual narrative that support claims of environmental sustainability and place based authenticity.
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Toppage
cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
