You might also remember that the whole process took a full 6 months from beginning (trying to get my brain around how you even design a kimono) to end!! (holding the precisely folded, shiny, freshly sewn, expensive beast in my very own hands)
前に振袖を染めたと覚えていますか。
六ヶ月間もかかったことも覚えていますか？！「着物をいったいどうやってデザインするんの？！」という始点から、綺麗に仕上げて貰ったものを両手に持つ終わりまでに。
 |
| my kimono. started in September 2012, finished march 2013. |
They say that things which you fear are probably the things that are most worthwhile doing. There's a mild pulse of terror going through me when I admit to myself that I may want to try dyeing another...kimono *gasp! There, I said it. I'm envisioning vivid flocks of parrots streaming across the sleeves of a pale heavy silk or white Corellas on a desert sand rusty orange background...
できないだろうと思うことこそすれば価値があると言われていますね。もう一回着物を染めてみたいと思ったら、恐ろしい気分になるのはそのためのでっしょう。怖いからいい経験になるでしょうが。。。薄い色の紬に、鮮やかなインコが飛んでいる着物とか、濃い落ち葉色の生地に真っ白のオウムの群の着物とか想像したら作りたくなります。
 |
| Little Corellas in Central Australia by Geoff Thompson |
But I'm held back from committing to it by a whole array of reasons and things I don't understand.
The thing that confounds me most when it comes to designing Kimono is the dilemma that you can do anything on a kimono but at the same time, you can't. There is this push and pull between absolute freedom and very defined limitations.
でも、分からないことばっかりで、色んな理由のせいで、「作ろう！」となかなか決められないです。
着物をデザインする際に最も分からないのは、着物に何の模様でもいいだが、同時に何でもいいというわけではない、という点です。つまり、完全な自由さがあるのに、かなり窮屈な規則もあるというアンバランスを感じます。
Colour, motifs, size of said motifs, sleeve length, fabric type, fabric weight, location of pattern on the body, amount of decoration, lining... these are just some of the variables you can adjust to give infinite outcomes. How about that for freedom of creative expression!?
色、模様、模様の大きさ、袖の長さ、生地の種類、生地の厚さ、体に模様がどこに来るか、装飾の程度、裏地など、これ以上の可変によって無限の違っている着物も作れるわけです。
Oh, but wait, that's right! There's also rules for each of those variables. Young women wear long sleeves, older women wear more subtle patterns, unlined kimono can't be worn in winter, heavy silk is too nice for everyday kimono, spring flower patterns shouldn't be worn in autumn, a giant flower that sits right on the wearer's behind when worn is probably not a good idea, et cetera, et cetera.
それで、上の可変の全部にもルールがあります！例えば、袖の長さだと20代の女には長い袖、50代には短い袖。50代だと模様を少なめに。冬だと裏地が付いていない着物が着れない。日常生活では、上級な絹は不適切。おしりの真ん中に来るデカい花模様は考え直した方がいいなど。考えないといけないことがいっぱいあります。
The thing that confounds me most when it comes to designing Kimono is the dilemma that you can do anything on a kimono but at the same time, you can't. There is this push and pull between absolute freedom and very defined limitations.
でも、分からないことばっかりで、色んな理由のせいで、「作ろう！」となかなか決められないです。
着物をデザインする際に最も分からないのは、着物に何の模様でもいいだが、同時に何でもいいというわけではない、という点です。つまり、完全な自由さがあるのに、かなり窮屈な規則もあるというアンバランスを感じます。
 |
| the age of the wearer determines various features of formal kimono: brightness, size of motifs, level of decoration, sleeves...and on and on... 年齢によって礼儀もかなり変わりますね。袖、色合い、模様の位置など。 |
色、模様、模様の大きさ、袖の長さ、生地の種類、生地の厚さ、体に模様がどこに来るか、装飾の程度、裏地など、これ以上の可変によって無限の違っている着物も作れるわけです。
 |
| the variations are endless....着物のバリエーションは無限でしょう。 |
それで、上の可変の全部にもルールがあります！例えば、袖の長さだと20代の女には長い袖、50代には短い袖。50代だと模様を少なめに。冬だと裏地が付いていない着物が着れない。日常生活では、上級な絹は不適切。おしりの真ん中に来るデカい花模様は考え直した方がいいなど。考えないといけないことがいっぱいあります。
So while it seems like a creative free-for-all which then has all the fun taken out of it, this is something that is present in many art-forms in Japan. Take the example of Ikebana - Japanese flower arranging. I was actually a member of Ikebana club for one year at my university and it was the very embodiment of taking virtually any kind of flower or plant, and creating something of beauty within very strict principles.
着物はとても自由な「キャンバス」であっても、デザインする楽しさは全部ルールでおさえられると感じます。こういうコントロールは他の芸能にもよく見えます。例えば生花。生花では、様々な自然のままの枝や花を手に取って、それを決まっている形、線に従わせて、美しさを求めます。
着物はとても自由な「キャンバス」であっても、デザインする楽しさは全部ルールでおさえられると感じます。こういうコントロールは他の芸能にもよく見えます。例えば生花。生花では、様々な自然のままの枝や花を手に取って、それを決まっている形、線に従わせて、美しさを求めます。
 |
| some of my arrangements from 1 year in Ikebana club. Arrangements have to take into account curves, negative space, colours, simplicity, shape of vase....嵯峨御流の華道部に入っていた1年間の写真から。色、花瓶、枝の形、花が咲く方向などを考えないと。 |
We were being taught to take into consideration the natural curvature of the stems you are working with, the spirit of each of the materials, the negative space created in the arrangement, the choice of vessel, the season, the angle from which to view it...and so on.
生け花にも、色んな事を考えないといけないです。植物の季節感、枝の自然の動き、枝の間の空間、器の種類、まだ咲いていない花はどこに咲いてくるとか。
I suppose what I am saying is that I am encountering this concept of 'controlled beauty' and finding that it is not an approach that comes naturally to me. 「抑えた美しさ」という考え方はなかなか慣れないわけです。
Despite the rules, (in terms of kimono these are probably just perpetuated and perceived rules, not as hard and fast as some would have you believe) there are some fantastic examples of fun, unique and sometimes just plain wacky kimono even from the Edo period (1603-1867). We are so used to the serene and conservative kimono of today that some of these designs seem pretty edgey. We tend to forget that there has always been innovation and boundary pushing; in every generation.
「ルール」にもかかわらず、（着物に対するルールは多分みんな思っているよりゆるいなんですが）江戸時代でも楽しい、独特の着物の例はあります。現在、晴着の着物に慣れてきた私たちにはこういう例は結構変わっているかもしれないが、どの時代にも革新的なファションがありますね。
Some great examples can be seen in so-called 'hinagata' booklets which flourished around the 1660's to the 1820's. They were basically printed catalogues of fashionable kimono designs which were used by dyers and kimono producers as a kind of custom order starting point. The black and white line drawings give a broad design idea which a customer could then have dyed to their size and colour preferences. Some of these would have been pretty interesting if they were actually created. (These books are amazing, I think I'll have to do another post just on hingata)
「雛型本」（ひながたぼん）には色んな着物デザインが見えます。雛型は１６６７年～1820年ごろに刊行されました。「小袖のデザインブック」のような本で、客さんの好み等に合わせて独自の着物が作れたガイドでした。
When I made my first kimono, I think I was trapped by ideas of "what a kimono should be like" and also some professors seemed to be telling me certain 'rules' about kimono. But you know what, after seeing these old hiinagata and looking around me, the kimono is as diverse of a 'canvas' as it is standard.
生け花にも、色んな事を考えないといけないです。植物の季節感、枝の自然の動き、枝の間の空間、器の種類、まだ咲いていない花はどこに咲いてくるとか。
I suppose what I am saying is that I am encountering this concept of 'controlled beauty' and finding that it is not an approach that comes naturally to me. 「抑えた美しさ」という考え方はなかなか慣れないわけです。
 |
| old kimono with a pattern of books |
 |
| kimono with a pattern depicting the old capital, Kyoto |
Despite the rules, (in terms of kimono these are probably just perpetuated and perceived rules, not as hard and fast as some would have you believe) there are some fantastic examples of fun, unique and sometimes just plain wacky kimono even from the Edo period (1603-1867). We are so used to the serene and conservative kimono of today that some of these designs seem pretty edgey. We tend to forget that there has always been innovation and boundary pushing; in every generation.
「ルール」にもかかわらず、（着物に対するルールは多分みんな思っているよりゆるいなんですが）江戸時代でも楽しい、独特の着物の例はあります。現在、晴着の着物に慣れてきた私たちにはこういう例は結構変わっているかもしれないが、どの時代にも革新的なファションがありますね。
Some great examples can be seen in so-called 'hinagata' booklets which flourished around the 1660's to the 1820's. They were basically printed catalogues of fashionable kimono designs which were used by dyers and kimono producers as a kind of custom order starting point. The black and white line drawings give a broad design idea which a customer could then have dyed to their size and colour preferences. Some of these would have been pretty interesting if they were actually created. (These books are amazing, I think I'll have to do another post just on hingata)
「雛型本」（ひながたぼん）には色んな着物デザインが見えます。雛型は１６６７年～1820年ごろに刊行されました。「小袖のデザインブック」のような本で、客さんの好み等に合わせて独自の着物が作れたガイドでした。
 |
| two-page spread of fairly classic kimono designs in a hinagata book. 雛型に見える古典的な着物デザインもあるけど。。。 |
 |
| or how about some scholarly young boys all over your kimono!? |
 |
| or a selection of caged animals? 籠に入っている動物の模様どうですか？ |
 |
| perhaps some swords...I guess this is intended for Men's or Boy's kimono刀の模様。多分男性用。 |
 |
| This design appears to be imitating imported block printed designs これは更紗に似ていない？ |
 |
| Perhaps some flower arrangements dancing around your back? 生花はいかが？！ |
When I made my first kimono, I think I was trapped by ideas of "what a kimono should be like" and also some professors seemed to be telling me certain 'rules' about kimono. But you know what, after seeing these old hiinagata and looking around me, the kimono is as diverse of a 'canvas' as it is standard.
私は初めて着物を作った時、「着物はこうだ」と硬く考えていたと思います。でも、雛型の独特の着物やあちこち着られている着物をよく見たら、着物のなかで信じられない多様性もあります。
 |
| Anything goes: Designs 67 & 68 from this particular hinagata book, showing design options for some very extravagant hem linings. |
Like any venture into a field you are inexperienced in, the more you step inside, the more you realise just how deep and vast the place is! You scrape the surface of kimono design and realise what a can of worms it is. Having sort of bluffed my way through my first kimono I am having visions of can after can of worms if I were to dye another one.
素人として新しい分野へ入って勉強すればするほど、自分が何も知らないと分かリます。着物の世界も、知識が深い玄人がいっぱい居ますし、とても複雑な勉強だと思います。初めての着物をなんだか染めましたが （ビギナーズラック）もう一回染めたら、色んな失敗が出そうです。
素人として新しい分野へ入って勉強すればするほど、自分が何も知らないと分かリます。着物の世界も、知識が深い玄人がいっぱい居ますし、とても複雑な勉強だと思います。初めての着物をなんだか染めましたが （ビギナーズラック）もう一回染めたら、色んな失敗が出そうです。
I also have doubts about dyeing kimono as a foreigner. Whilst in no way do I have plans to make some kind of sloppy imitation kimono or treat it like a novelty, I am worried that people may see it as an unusual novelty, once they know I am not Japanese. This is an idea I come across often in making my work in traditional techniques and I don't think it is easily explained away or ignorable. I am still feeling with this topic and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.
 |
| foreigners + kimono. contentious. from flickr |
But Kyoto is THE Textile and kimono industrial centre of Japan. Around me I have the facilities, the space, the tools, the traditional materials, the old traditional shops selling the various fabrics, the teachers with the knowledge to impart...
Perhaps it's time to take the risk of being misread and just put my parrots on a kimono.
色んな疑問があっても、京都って染の中心地であり、作らないのがもったいないかもしれない。京都には染める場所、設備、道具やさん、生地やさんもあって、知識を持っている先生もいます。
日本に居る間にしか作れない独特なインコの着物を制作してみようかな。。。
日本に居る間にしか作れない独特なインコの着物を制作してみようかな。。。
No comments:
Post a Comment