I learned about vegetable dyeing from The Tale of Genji.
Yukio Yoshioka, a dyer, has been reading up on the classics in order to research ancient Japanese vegetable dyeing. The Engishiki, which describes the annual events and systems of the Heian period, describes dyes and other necessary materials, and it is said that it is possible to imagine dyeing techniques. He wasn't very interested in The Tale of Genji when he was in college, but he read it in its original text many times after he took over the family business and was in his 40s. This is because there are many scenes that involve color.
Silk cloth with two indigo color samples. Ni-ai is a hue dyed with shades of indigo and red. During the Heian period, aristocrats wore naogi (daily wear) in various hues in the summer, with younger people wearing a reddish-purple color with a strong safflower color, and older people wearing a mainly indigo-based blue color.
Yoshioka is holding an exhibition recreating attacks from The Tale of Genji. He came across an old book from the Edo period called Usuyo Irome, which had color samples of the woodblock prints, so he set out to recreate the colors of the colors. ``The Tale of Genji'' lists various names for colors. You have to imagine what that color is and then decide on it. You need to think about it. It's not just about showing color. It's important to understand people's sensibilities by reading Japanese poetry or literature. hey".
I was shown ingredients such as Kariyasu and Safflower. ``When I go to England or Germany, I get a lot of questions about whether these plants can be used for dyeing,'' says Yoshioka.
In the ``Tamakazura'' chapter of ``The Tale of Genji,'' there is a scene in which clothes are distributed. The story depicts the main character, Hikaru Genji, as well as his beloved woman, Murasaki Ue, arranging and distributing New Year's costumes in appropriate colors to his other wives and other women with whom he has connections. The atmosphere of the wives can be seen by the costumes given by Genji. During this period, costumes were important in aristocratic society because they expressed social status and personality.
In front of a workshop filled with plants used for dyeing, such as walnuts and pomegranates. ``There are trees growing in this garden that can be used for dyeing.I never pay a water bill because I get water from a well.I can pay my electricity bill.''
The colors of the seasons that change delicately
Japanese people keep chasing
The person in charge of the dyeing is Denshi Fukuda, who has been working at the Yoshioka workshop for generations. In collaboration with Fukuda, Yoshioka recreated the "Sou no Ome" and created the Yukio Yoshioka exhibition "In Search of Forgotten Colours" (see Part 1) at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. I have continued to explore the colors of.
A stole by ``Someno Tsukasa Yoshioka''. It is characterized by its transparency and color without turbidity. Despite its tension, it is surprisingly light.
``In Japan, the seasons change very delicately.When I went to Dunhuang, China in the middle of winter, it was -30 degrees Celsius and the river was frozen.When I went outside, there wasn't a single green tree.It was just the color of the soil.The sky was... Even when it snows, it bounces around on the ground.It's hard for me to live in a place where there's no spring.Not only are there many colors, but they also reflect the changing seasons. The Marquis.”
One of Yoshioka's treasures is the wasarasa collection. Wasarasa is a type of cloth made in Japan, influenced by Indian chintz, and is made using paper patterns and printed with various patterns using pigments and dyes. Production areas include Sakai, Kyoto, Nagasaki, and Nabeshima.
Yoshioka's workshop is responsible for dyeing washi paper needed for festivals at Todaiji Temple and Yakushiji Temple in Nara, and Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine in Kyoto. When I visited the workshop, they were dyeing washi paper for the flower offering at the Iwashimizu Festival held at Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine. Dye Japanese paper to make artificial flowers representing the 12 months. You will need to repeat dyeing several times until you reach the desired color. Apparently, once dyed, the paper becomes thicker with the dye. In winter, for the Shuni-e (Omizutori) festival at Todaiji Temple, red and yellow washi paper is dyed with safflower and kuchinashi to decorate the inner sanctum of Nigatsu-do Hall with camellia flowers.
Above: Washi paper used for offering flowers to the gods at Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine. The green washi paper used for the leaves is first dyed with indigo, and then the yellow of the yellow oak is dyed with a brush. Repeat the dyeing process several times.
Below: His third daughter, Sarasa Yoshioka, is in charge of the washi paper used for offering flowers to the gods. She supports Yoshioka's lectures and holds her own workshops. She said, ``The clothes I'm drying right now have been dyed three times.''
Yoshioka says that Japanese people pay close attention to seasonal colors. ``The time when wheat ripens at the beginning of summer is called Mugiaki, because the ears of wheat take on an autumn-like color.The Japanese sensibility is to give such detailed names.The names of colors are also based on natural things. I guess it's named after that." He also says that there are many things related to color that remain in Japan.
Thread for textiles. Fabrics such as obi are made by dyeing the threads and weaving them. The lustrous silk threads shine in natural hues.
``In our work, we often look at the colors found in the classics.We look at the colors of the brocades at Shosoin Temple, and learn from literature about the attire of aristocratic women in the Heian Dynasty. My job is to constantly color the appearance of early spring, which is described in the Kokin Wakashu as ``Kokin Wakashu''. It means that it has beautiful colors. It means that all the colors are gathered there."
People get colors from nature and wear them. It seems to symbolize the Japanese people's relationship with nature. ``Since I took over the family business, I've been looking out the window at the bright colors. At the scenery,'' Yoshioka told me.
Yukio Yoshioka enters a dyeing workshop surrounded by greenery.
→The vivid colors of Japan recreated by Yukio Yoshioka (Part 1) here..
(Titles omitted)
Sachio Yoshioka
Born in 1946. Born in Kyoto Prefecture. After he graduated from Waseda University, he worked at a publishing company. Born in 1988, he is the fifth generation of his family, Yoshioka Someji. She won the Kimono Culture Award in 1991. In 2000, she published ``Japanese Color Dictionary''. Received the Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award Distinguished Service Award in 2009 and the 2010th Hiroshi Kikuchi Award in 58. In 2011, the documentary film “Murasaki” was released. Received the 2012rd Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast Culture Award in 63. 2016 V&A Museum (UK) permanent collection ``70 Colors of Japan''. In 2018, "Yukio Yoshioka's Works Exhibition: In Search of Lost Colors" was held at the V&A Museum (UK).
https://www.sachio-yoshioka.com
Text by Akiko Ishizuka
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