Traditional crafts find new possibilities in the world

Founded in the Genroku era (1688), Hosoo is a long-established Nishijin textile company that has been in Nishijin, Kyoto for about 330 years, preserving its traditions while continuing to innovate, expand into the global market, and take on challenges. Masataka Hosoo, the 12th generation of Hosoo, is at the helm of the company. While communicating the appeal of Nishijin textiles to the world and exploring new possibilities, we are carving out a new future for Nishijin textiles through our new base, ``HOSOO FLAGSHIP STORE'', which was completed this year.

“Nishijin-ori is a yarn-dyed textile that has been passed down in Kyoto for 1200 years.Each craftsman goes through 20 steps, including dyeing the threads, making ``haku'' by pasting thinly stretched gold or silver onto washi paper, and weaving... We carry it on our shoulders and complete it into a single piece of cloth.We create the structure of the fabric by intentionally designing the reflection of light, much like cutting a rough diamond to maximize the brilliance of a gemstone. We give the cloth a three-dimensional structure.This three-dimensional effect is unique to Nishijin-ori, which is not found in other textiles, and its most distinctive feature is that it takes on a different expression depending on the viewing angle.'' Nishijin textiles have been cultivated since ancient times by aristocrats, samurai, and wealthy townspeople, and can be said to be the pinnacle of traditional craftsmanship that have been passed down with the utmost luxury and skill.

``Hosoo'', which was founded as a weaving shop, also became a wholesaler of obi and kimono during the Taisho era, but as time passed, the kimono market shrank. It was Mao Hosoo, the current president of Hosoo and Masataka's father, who changed his mind to turn his attention to the world. "Nishijin textiles definitely have great potential. Since the beginning of the 2000s, my father has been aiming to expand Nishijin textiles overseas, thinking that it must be attractive enough as a textile. Around that time, I also started working in the family business. That's what I did.'' Our overseas expansion began in 2006. It was an exhibition at Maison et Objet, an interior trade fair held in Paris every year. I wondered what kind of proposal I could make to get the world interested in Nishijin textiles, and decided to exhibit a sofa made from Nishijin textiles. "However, the problem was the traditional width of the Nishijin-ori fabric. The width of the obi is generally 32cm. However, when it is made into a sofa, the seams of the fabric are exposed." Although we still had this problem with the 32cm width, we started selling cushions the following year. He says that this caught the attention of a long-established department store and he received inquiries, which led to him gaining confidence.

Achieving the 150cm width that spread Nishijin-ori to the world

A major turning point for Hosoo came in 2008 when he exhibited an obi at the Kansei-Japan Design Exhibition held at the Louvre Palace National Museum of Decorative Arts in France. “The following year, while touring New York, Peter Marino, an internationally active architect, became interested in the beauty of the texture of Nishijin-ori, and was commissioned to develop a textile that utilized Nishijin-ori techniques.” However, Masataka Hosoo believed that there was no future for Nishijin-ori with its current width of 32cm, and decided to develop a loom with a width of 150cm that would become the standard for textiles, and it took about a year to complete. .

The textile commissioned by Peter Marino will be used as wallpaper to decorate Dior's flagship store. With this opportunity, we were able to expand the possibilities of Nishijin-ori for kimonos, as interior fabric, and as fabric for clothing. Since then, Nishijin-ori has been sublimated to the world as a material for clothing by high-end brands such as Dior and Chanel, and as interior fabric for luxury hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton and Aman.

To date, Hosoo has created over 200 types of textiles. "Our concept is ``Ⅿore than Textile.'' We always aim to create beautiful textiles that people have never seen before, and to create Nishijin textiles that can only be created in this era." Starting this year, he has partnered with Dutch designer May Engelgier and is working on new works. ``Mr. May is a specialist in incorporating the concept of color skim (color planning) into textiles.This new work incorporates the idea of ​​a color scheme that has never been seen in Nishijin-ori, and all the pieces in the collection respond to each other, making the colors resonate. ”.

Ten years have passed since Masataka Hosoo, who had no intention of taking over the family business when he was young, returned to the world of the traditional craft of Nishijin-ori. At the same time, he also cherishes the activities of the project unit ``GO ON'', which is made up of six successors of Kyoto's traditional crafts. The members are tea caddy (Kaikado, Takahiro Yagi), bamboo crafts (Kochosai Kosuge, Tatsuyuki Kosuge), wood crafts (Nakagawa Wood Crafts, Shuji Nakagawa), Kyoto Kinami (Kanamami Tsuji, Toru Tsuji), and tea pottery (Asahi ware). The 10th generation, Hosai Matsubayashi), and Nishijin-ori (Hosoo, Masataka Hosoo) are all young masters. In the world of traditional crafts in Kyoto, where there was not much horizontal connection, ``GO ON'' was born as a unit that encouraged people of the same generation who were also taking on the challenge of expanding overseas to work together. Although each piece is independent, they are loosely connected and take on the challenge of creating products by fusing traditional techniques with new materials. "In order for traditional crafts to be passed on to the next generation, it is necessary to continue to take on challenges. We are friends who can enjoy the stimulation and courage we receive from each other." GO ON, which started its activities in 2012, brings new values ​​to traditional crafts by collaborating with overseas designers and companies such as Panasonic.

(Titles omitted)

→The future of Nishijin textiles pioneered by the 12th generation Masataka Hosoo (Part XNUMX)

Masataka Hosoo
Managing Director Hosoo Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab Director's Fellow
Born in 1978 to the Hosoo family, a long-established Nishijin textile shop. After graduating from university, he worked as a musician and then joined a major jewelry manufacturer. After leaving the company, he studied abroad in Florence and joined Hosoo in 2008. Since 2009, he has been in charge of new business. He has developed fabrics based on obi techniques and materials overseas, which are used in architect Peter Marino's Dior and Chanel stores. In 2012, he started activities to spread traditional crafts domestically and internationally as a member of "GO ON". In 2014, he was selected as one of Nikkei Business Magazine's ``Japan's 100 Leading People''. Since 2016, he has been a Director's Fellow at MIT.
http://www.hosoo.co.jp/

HOSOO FLAGSHIP STORE
412 Kakimotocho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City
075-221-8888
Business hours 10: 30-18: 00
Closed on Sundays, holidays, and New Year's holidays