Itchiku Kubota
[2] Kubota grew up in an environment rich with opportunities to view traditional Japanese art: the neighbourhood in which he lived was filled with dye workshops.
In 1931, at the age of 14, Kubota left school to become the apprentice of Kobayashi Kiyoshi, a Tokyo-based kimono artist who specialized in hand-painted yūzen dyework (a paste resist-dyeing technique).
The tsujigahana technique would go on to become the main focus of much of his life's work:[1] Restraining the pounding of my heart, I gazed intently at that small piece of fabric exuding a subtle and profound atmosphere (…).
The technique utilised stitched resist dyeing (nuishime shibori), which was then elaborated upon with hand-painted dyework, typically in floral motifs.
[citation needed] Because no instructions survived explaining the reproduction of the technique, and because the silk fabric necessary for its successful production (known as nerinuki) was no longer woven, Kubota was forced to experiment by himself for decades and devoted himself to reviving tsujigahana dyeing.
[8][1] Kubota also felt that it was meaningless to cling to the past and ignore the highest-quality contemporary silk textiles and synthetic dyes that were products of the modern world.
[5] Although some traditionalists criticized Kubota for attaching the term 'tsujigahana' to his work, he had a strong advocate in Tomoyuki Yamanobe, one of the most respected textile scholars of the time.
[7] The Collection includes the works from the 'Mount Fuji', 'Oceans', 'Universe' series, some individual pieces, and Kubota's unfinished lifetime project, 'The Symphony of Light'.
The 'Symphony of Light' series was radically different to Kubota's earlier kimono: they were oversized, based on the uchikake, the full-length, unbelted outerkimono with a trailing, padded hem, giving the garments a dramatic appearance.
They were made with a heavier silk crepe woven with wefts of gold or silver, adding an extra reflective quality to the designs.
Since then, two additional works based on Kubota's designs for 'Universe' have been completed by Kobo, the Itchiku atelier, giving a total of 36 kimono to the 'Symphony of Light' collection.
Kubota's initial concept called for a pyramid-shaped schematic formed from 13 kimono that together would echo Mount Fuji's triangular shape.
[24] The 'Universe' kimono were to be presented as a panorama of colour and light, whilst capturing Kubota's vision of Mount Fuji's molten core, symbolic of the beginnings of the Universe itself.
Together, these kimono present a mini-series of mystical seascapes in which the line between ocean and sky is blurred, and islands seem to drift in and out, appearing more as mirages than real.
The mountain has been the object of pilgrimages and artworks for thousands of people over the centuries; for Kubota, Fuji was a sacred symbol that revealed new qualities each time he saw it.
[27] Kubota based many of his art kimono on the uchikake, a traditional full-length, unbelted outer robe with a trailing, weighted hem.
[5] Shortly following this, after having held several shows around Japan, Kubota and his creations drew interest from the rest of the world, and his work was exhibited first in the United States in 1980, and then in France in 1983.
[29][30] In 1994 and 1995, Kubota's work returned to Japan, where it found a permanent home in Kawaguchi-ko, in the Kubota-designed and financed museum which preserves and showcases them to the present day.
The Itchiku Kubota Art Museum is located in the wooded hills along the northern coast of Lake Kawaguchi, in Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan.
The main building, opened in October 1994, was constructed using a combination of traditional Japanese and Western techniques, representing the artist's unique worldview.
The design is based on traditional Japanese architecture, but the structure evolves into a complex and spectacular pyramid-like puzzle of sixteen huge, 1000 year-old 13 m (43 ft)-tall wooden beams that are arranged in layers.
[38] The entryway to the museum is embellished by the mix of coral and limestone from Okinawa and sculptural ironwork by present-day artists, and features dramatically hand-carved doors sourced from India, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
[36][38] A tea-room, "Itchiku-an", located at the back of the exhibition room, offers visitors green tea, sweets, and a beautiful view of the surroundings.
The garden around the museum was designed by Kubota,[36] with the aim of accentuating the natural environment and showcasing the beauty of the surrounding area, combining Ryukyuan limestone, igneous rocks, and variety of local trees and spring water.
[40] Kubota worked with expert gardeners to place the decorative rocks, quiet ponds, streams, and waterfalls, combining the components for audio and visual effect.
