japanese textile study tour brochure
TRANSCRIPT
© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 1
JAPANESE TEXTILE STUDY TOUR
The Japanese Textile Study Tour 15 - 25 April, 2012 In 2011 I visited Japan to explore Japanese textiles and the art of Shibori and
indigo dyeing. The beauty of Japanese art and textiles made a huge impression on
me. The highlight of my visit was to meet Bryan Whitehead the owner of
Japanese Textile Workshops.
Bryan, originally from the West Coast of Canada, has been living in Japan for 23
years, growing and processing his own indigo for 18 years, and raising silkworms
for 14 years. He runs a small textile school at his traditional Japanese farmhouse
that focuses on indigo, natural dyes, shibori, stencil dyeing, thread making from
silk cocoons, and weaving on traditional Japanese looms. The house is situated in
a mountain village in Fujino just outside of Tokyo. The village is well known for
silk farming. Bryan’s work with traditional Japanese textiles is often documented
in the Japanese media. His students come from many parts of Japan.
My interest in craft has been evolving over many years as I lived, worked and
became exposed to the cultures and crafts of various countries, from the Sahara
regions of North Africa and the equally fascinating empty quarter of the Arabian
Peninsula to the tropical regions of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. My Thai
mother influenced my love of sewing and basket making, while I explored and
worked with quilting, embroidery, spinning and natural dyeing. In addition to
exhibiting my work in Barcelona, Houston, Abu Dhabi and Melbourne, I have
been sharing my interests through regular posts on my blog. My recent interest
with traditional Japanese textiles took me to Japan, where I met Bryan.
When I met Bryan we discovered that his expertise in Japanese traditional textiles
and my own interest in crafts, influenced by extensive travel and an expatriate
lifestyle, complement each other well. So Bryan and I have decided to offer a
glimpse into the wonderful world of Traditional Japanese Textiles by arranging a
study tour available to a small group of no more than 10 persons. There are
currently no radiation health concerns associated with the meltdowns at the
Fukushima Nuclear Power plants in any of the areas covered by this study tour,
including the Japanese Textile Workshops farmhouse where you will be staying.
Tour Costs Tour Package:
AUD $ 3,800
Package Includes:
All fees for Japanese Textile Workshops, and all
supplies. If you want to dye extras for gifts etc.
the cloth and indigo will be available at cost
price.
All accommodation (first night at Shinjuku
Hilton, Tokyo and 10 nights in traditional
Japanese style farmhouse - double occupancy)
All breakfasts (Hilton buffet breakfast plus
healthy Japanese breakfasts)
All transportation within Japan
Meals: 2 evening meals (welcome and farewell
dinners)
Museum entrance fees
Bilingual (English-Japanese) tour guide service
as applicable
Personal luggage transfer – required (airport to
Fujino and return)
Cost of Hachioji Indigo workshop fee and all
supplies (approx. ¥2000)
Package Excludes:
International air fares
Travel insurance
Restaurant meals except the 2 evening meals
included above
Entrance fee to Onsen, Japanese bath
(approx. ¥600)
© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 2
ITINERARY Day One: Sunday April 15th You arrive at Tokyo Narita International airport. Nat and Bryan will
greet you and take you by Narita Express reserved seat train to the
Shinjuku Hilton for an overnight stay. We will have our tour
orientation and dinner in the Shinjuku district nearby.
Day Two: Monday April 16th After breakfast, depart Shinjuku Hilton and travel by train to the
village of Fujino. The village was chosen as one of 100 most scenic
traditional mountain villages in Japan by a leading newspaper in 2010
(1 hour 10min). From the station take a short minibus ride to the
Japanese Textile Workshops traditional farmhouse accommodation.
Time to refresh and settle into accommodation before having
Japanese lunch prepared by local Japanese cooks. Observation during
preparation and presentation of lunch is welcome. Activities start
after lunch with indigo dyeing several traditional Japanese tenugui
towels. Refresh and prepare for dinner a local Japanese grilled
chicken restaurant. You cook your own on charcoal with chopsticks.
Day Three: Tuesday April 17th In the morning you will work with indigo at the vats, dyeing shibori
cloth and looking at samples, books and prints about the breadth of
Japanese shibori. You will also learn to dye skeins of linen thread. For
each step of the dyeing process, Bryan will give you all the
information you need to ensure that you will have a very clear
understanding by the end of the study tour of how indigo works with
different kinds of vats, both in Japan and other countries.
We will all make and enjoy udon noodles for lunch with local
mountain vegetable tempura. Udon noodles are a traditional form of
Japanese wheat noodles. After lunch you will dye some small pieces
of silk with a yellow dye and over dye it with indigo to get greens. We
will look at the Japanese colour ideals and how the Chinese character
system names the colours so poetically.
Later in the afternoon we will explore the village and have dinner in a
local restaurant with an option to try out an onsen, a local hot spring.
The men and women bathe separately.
Dinner and the optional hot spring are not covered, but neither is
expensive. Both are experiences not to be missed.
Day Four: Wednesday April 18th This will be a full day of unique activities. We will take a day trip
from Fujino to visit a working fermentation indigo studio making
stencil dyed kimono, a silk textile artists’ studio, a walk by a cherry
tree lined river in full blossom, and perhaps a visit to a sake brewery.
We will take a special Japanese packed lunch to have in a Japanese
garden. Dinner will be at a traditional old Japanese house serving
grilled trout.
Day Five: Thursday April 19th A restful but interesting day at Japanese Textile Workshops. In the
morning we look at katazome Japanese stencil cutting and dying. We
will cut small stencils on persimmon tannin paper to use later. You
will have a chance to weave the thread you indigo dyed on Tuesday
on some traditional Japanese kimono looms. You will weave enough
to make a small Japanese style bag. The bag also requires a draw-
string. These will be braided on kumihimo stands. We will dye with
Madder, some silk, and then over dye part of it with indigo to get
shades of purple. Lunch will be at the Japanese Textile Workshops
farmhouse. Dinner will be a Japanese style BBQ under a canopy of
cherry blossoms.
© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 3
Day Six: Friday April 20th This is a special day with a trip to Mt. Fuji only one hour away by min-
ibus. Bryan will share his local knowledge as your tour guide. During
the day we will visit:
a silk museum http://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/kaiki/
a pottery studio
a visit to the Mt. Fuji climbers’ shrine
lunch at a beer brewery on the slopes of Mt. Fuji
http://www.fujizakura-beer.jp/
dine out, and be home in time to do some weaving or braiding or tie
dying before bed
Day Seven: Saturday April 21st A day trip to Tokyo to visit the famous Japanese Folk Crafts Museum
in the morning http://www.mingeikan.or.jp/english/
We will have time in the afternoon to visit shopping areas in Tokyo
and flea/antique markets. The museum entrance fee is covered as
well as the train to and from Tokyo. We will have lunch and dinner in
Tokyo.
Day Eight: Sunday April 22nd In the morning we will practice Stencil dying/katazome at the indigo
vats. We will use the stencils we cut on Thursday using a paste made
from rice as a resist. You will be able to make a myriad of these sten-
cil prints on cloth and use them as table centres, gifts, coasters,
patchwork pieces, and small bag material. In the afternoon we will
© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 4
Payment of tour fee and registration details
A deposit of AUD $500 towards the tour package fee is required
at the time of registration to reserve your place on the tour.
The balance of the tour package fee is due by January 15, 2012.
Payment of the tour package fee may be made by instalments
up to this date. If the tour is fully booked, you will have the
option of being placed on a waiting list.
The deposit will be refunded (less a handling fee of AUD $100)
if you inform us of your intent to cancel by December 15, 2011.
In case of cancellation by the organisers, the fee including the
deposit will be refunded in full. The organisers are not responsi-
ble for refunding the cost of airfares and travel insurance in
case of cancellation.
For more information please contact:
Nat Palaskas
Email: [email protected]
Visit tour blog at: http://japanesetextilestudytour.blogspot.com
Phone: +61 (3) 9562 1176
Mobile: 0418 660 980