"Translating" a Technique in a Different Country - Katazome in Australia

It's been 8 years since I first tried to replicate katazome resist dyeing in Australia. After spending a year on exchange at Kyoto Seika University during my undergraduate studies, I'd come back with a burning enthusiasm to try and see if the same technique could be achievable with local supplies. It turns out, yes - but with much modification.

When you start to look at traditional crafts without applying the lens of "sacred and untouchable", you find at the core of it all a basic process that utilises a series of specific tools and ingredients to achieve a beautiful end result. The gadgets and materials that have come to be synonymous with a particular traditional craft (think shibugami stencil paper with katazome) have only obtained that status because they've developed over time in line with that culture and with other industries developing simultaneously.

What I mean is,

Dye brushes at Kuriyama-kobo, a katazome company
on the western edge of Kyoto

why would katazome use deer-hair brushes? Probably because 1. there were deer around and 2. an industry already existed making deer-hair brushes for use in traditional painting. Why would one utilise thin rods of bamboo with sharp spikes at the end to stretch fabric taut? Presumably because bamboo was already being formed into products for other purposes at the time. Katagami stencil paper could not have developed without the existing Japanese skills in washi papermaking - from which the stencil paper is made.

Very traditional stencil paper - shibugami

The thing is, if we look at the technique of katazome as it stands now, there is a very polished, established and institutionalised way of practicing it. It is basically understood to involve a set of specific tools and materials (mochi rice flour, komon rice bran, stencil paper, soybean & seaweed derived fixative). These are presumed to be the ultimate, most refined and correct way to achieve the best results. Of course it is fair to think that. These are not tools and materials that are used by accident - they have gone through a few hundred years of use and modification.

Whilst there is now some deviation from these very traditional and quintessential ingredients and processes, like a modified plasticised stencil paper or a chemical pre-dye fixative, there is still a very set way of doing things.

Newer plasticised stencil paper

How about if you want to use katazome in a country where those quintessential tools and materials are not only unavailable, they're simply not part of our culture. Bamboo, deer hair, rice flour and washi paper have only, if at all, recently been part of our vocabulary let alone available to purchase. They simply aren't part of our natural environment or resources.

Applying shinshi stretchers to long narrow fabric

So okay, why not seek to uncover what function these ingredients and tools perform within the katazome process and utilise something locally available to perform the same task?

Instead of lamenting that shinshi (bamboo fabric stretchers) are unavailable in Australia (they have no reason to be; historically we've never needed to be able to stretch a narrow kimono-width fabric out to dry) why not consider what function they are performing (stretching the fabric taut whilst leaving the back side accessible) and seek to replicate that function? A wooden frame with pins to hold the fabric out taut performs the same function. Of course, this is not as flexible as the centuries-tried-and-true shinshi approach but it is a workable solution.

Funori - looks natural and traditional, I guess

Manutex - not pretty but same stuff on the inside

Alright, what about the funori  - a seaweed derived gloopy thickener used in the pre-dye fixative? Well, if you get down to the nitty-gritty of what's actually in that stuff, you'd find that it's the same seaweed gloop that we use as a food thickener in Australia and it also already exists as a substrate for use in screen printing. Powdered "Manutex F" does not have the same natural look or roll off the tongue as nicely as funori, sure, but it performs the same basic function. 

And so you can continue with all the necessary tools and ingredients in the hallowed katazome tomes and see what can be used to achieve the same result.



For some ingredients the swap is simple. Others are proving more difficult. Soft, dense dye brushes, fine de-fatted rice-bran, water erasable ao-bana ink.... But it is really just a matter of thinking outside the box. To be able to source tools and materials locally would be the ideal situation. Not to remove the technique from its Japanese roots entirely, but to make it viable.


There are many specialised businesses in Kyoto, for example, which have operated as family-run enteprises for some hundreds of years. They each have their own niche of the textile process to support; the nori (resist paste) manufacturer and shop, the shinshi (bamboo stretcher) specialist, the kimono-width silk salesroom, the specialised craftsmen making circular punches for intricate stencil carving...More and more these businesses are struggling to survive. With the demise of the kimono as daily and common wear, these businesses that thrived and supported the kimono industry now have little patronage to subsist on. If I were still in Kyoto, I would continue to support these businesses with my own hard-owned yen and utilise them in my artwork but I fear even that is simply not enough.

Just one example of the many kimono industry support businesses that are often now finding it hard to stay afloat

If, and it would seem likely, these businesses continue to shut-down, there is no-one left to make the traditional katagami, to bulk-produce batches of nori paste, to make specific lengths of shinshi, to craft tiny sharp circular punches. Like any loss of knowledge and skills, this is tragic, it really is. But this is the way it goes. Crafts are only in demand so much as they are an active and necessary part of our daily lives. Without that demand, they become obsolete. There are many example of innovative companies and individuals who are thinking outside the box to continue supporting Kyoto's craft industries and make them relevant to today's society (these are something I plan to touch on in future) but I think we also need to be realistic. Whilst continuing to support traditional industry where possible, I think we need to start accepting that there are alternatives, so that the techniques can actually survive - even if some of the tools cannot.

It seems to me that in the end, even if it means modifying many of the components of the technique, having the ability to actually practice the technique at all, and see it survive into the future is the best way to honour tradition.

A tradition is kept alive only by something being added to it. - Henry James

On that note, I'm off to continue testing out new resist-paste recipes!

Katagami Stencil Collection - 古い型紙に感動されました！

Hello! It's been a while, so welcome to 2016!
I was hoping I might clock up my 100th blogpost in 2015 but didn't quite make it, so there is another goal for this year! For now, here comes post #94. I think this is finally the last of my better-late-than-never posts, wrapping up some textile-y experiences from early 2015. Anyway, enjoy!

お久しぶりです！２０１５年はにあんまり投稿しなかったから、今年はもっと頑張りたいと思っています！（気づいたらもう３月になっちゃってびっくり！）２０１６年、１００稿目に達しそうのでワクワクですが、とりあえず今回の９４稿目をどうぞ楽しんでください。

It was last April and my Textiles Professor had a pile of enormous boxes on her desk. She opened the first one to reveal a mountain of amazing hand-carved katagami stencils. Each frail sheet was made from the old-style katagami paper; a rich brown washi that had been coated in persimmon juice and then smoked. That very particular earthy smell had faded from these 100-year-old stencils but the incredible craftsmanship was still preserved.

When told to take our time and leaf through as many we liked, the look on our faces must have been akin to that of a child being told they are allowed to help themselves to the lolly jar!

去年の４月でした。私の先生が大きな箱を何個も準備してくれていました。一つ目を開けて、古い型紙が山ほど入っていました。昔の型紙に使った渋紙の独特な香りはもう無くなっていましたが、繊細は技術は明らかでした。ゆっくりと一箱ずつに型紙を見て、感動しました。

OMG. Awed by the details is↑fellow Katazome-ian Amy from moyou.com.au

I've written about katagami before and the different cutting methods (although if you translate the Japanese terms, it's called carving). The boxes we were leafing through were filled with all different kinds of katagami, each as impressive as the next.

These stencils are part of a collection of pieces that were gifted to Kyoto Seika University by the Tanaka Nao Dye supply company of Kyoto. They were carefully sorted and catalogued by the University and since 2008 they form a part of their strong 'Traditional Craft' resources collection. They even house some of these resources in a special dedicated room in the library with lacquer-ware and things on display too! Oh, how I miss that little room....

この型紙は京都で有名な染料店「田中直」が京都精華大学に寄贈されたコレクションです。私が勉強していた間、京都精華大学は伝統技術や京都の産業を大事にしていると感じました。図書館の中に「伝統工芸・産業資料室」という部屋でもあって、工芸について色んな貴重な資料や、漆の展示もありました。あんなに珍しい本や専門の資料があったのを今考えたら、もっともっと勉強しに行けばよかったなぁとよく思いますね！

前にも型紙の種類について投稿しました。この箱にも色んな道具や技術を使った型紙がはいっていました。
さて、箱に入っていた型紙のハイライトを見ましょう。

So let's take a look at some of the different styles and techniques we found in this collection.

1. Dohgu-bori　道具彫りの型紙
Stencils carved with shaped punches.

These stencils are all cut with tiny, sharp metal-tipped punches, pressed with force through several layers of washi at once, over and over and over, with incredible precision. Often these punches have simple circular tips, but they can also be petal shaped, oblongs, crescents, leaves, you name it!

The most impressive dohgu-bori stencil we came to would probably have to be this one. The stencil itself was pretty worn out, a bit shrunken and wrinkled from use, but the combinations of different patterns was amazing! Waves, autumn leaves, autumn flowers...

a detail of the stencil above　この一枚は凄くきれいでした。

Other impressive dohgu-bori stencils included this very fine design of bunches of grapes (i think?)

ブドウの模様なのかしら？

And below, this uber fine scalloped design! those "punched" circles are more like pin pricks in this one! Can you imagine sitting there and punching out each and every hole, one-by-one and still maintaining  symmetry? Not to mention your sanity?!

うわっ！この模様は超細くて、針で彫られたみたい！

2. Stencils that require silk thread mesh to keep them together.
紗張りされた型紙

In stencil cutting, you tend to avoid very long thin parts in a design because they are inherently weak. You also stay away from parts that jut out because they are likely to catch your spatula edge when it comes time to apply the resist paste over the top.

BUT! Never ones to shy away from difficult obstacles, the craftsmen of years gone by came up with a method of applying very fine silk threads to the stencil to reinforce it and keep all its parts aligned and secure. The threads are so fine that they do not affect the application of resist paste. This mesh method is still used today but the mesh is very uniform and machine made, often it is synthetic.

modern synthetic mesh applied to the front of one of my Katagami stencils from 2012

But the old mesh was more labour intensive. Sometimes it was strung up on a board by craftswomen, and sandwiched in between two sheets of the same stencil. At others, it was literally sewn in, to catch all the little edges.

"Ito-ire" the meticulous process of creating a grid of silk threads and then sandwiching it in between the two layers of cut stencil with lacquer. Eek!

An example of a sewn-in mesh!

Willows and the surface of a pond, so so so detailed!

Here's the detail. you can see the little skimmer insect as well as the silk mesh

detail of mesh that has been sandwiched to keep these open curvy areas and long thin lines under control.

3. A clever style where the thickness of vertical lines creates a pattern within a pattern.　縞彫りの種類。

How cool is this? Edo-period craftsmen knew all about optical illusions! Just by carving varying thicknesses of lines, they can make you see clouds, birds, patterns, plants...These definitely have silk threads running horizontally to keep all those pesky verticals in place.

This one below, like most of the stencils, repeats on its long side. in the image below you can see two lines that stick out just a tiny bit further than the others. These are the "registration marks", if you want to use screen-printing terms. They are the tiny guides, to show where to match up the repeat each time it is printed.

Swallows, clouds, those diagonal lines may be representing rain because the swallows are numerous in the rainy season in Japan.

4. Pairs of stencils - 二枚型 Nimai-gata (or sometimes 文久小紋 Bunkyu-komon)

This type is really mind blowing. So a stencil has some limitations right? It's got to have parts that connect to each other so that the whole thing doesn't just fall apart That means you can't have design elements that float; everything has to be touching. BUT!
If you create two stencils, that get pasted one after the other in the same spot, you can actually "erase" some of those connecting parts and achieve the look of separate, floating design parts.

This is pretty hard to explain. The first or base stencil is called the "Main stencil" (omo-gata) and the second stencil applied on top is the "Erasing Stencil"(keshi-gata).

This Japanese site has excellent visual explanations and here is one example below.

Stencil one, 

plus stencil 2...

equals this! 

It is truly Japanese ingenuity in practice. What a lot of trouble to go to, simply to get a particular 'look'. These days, a screen-print can quickly produce the effect that the elaborate 'nimaigata' were developed to produce. But a machine-printed design will never have the same touch as one printed from a hand-carved stencil.

Here is one of a pair. We couldn't find it's matching stencil.

4. 最後に、とっても遅いですが、新年の祝いとして、松竹梅の型紙も！
And lastly, some very belated New Year wishes with an auspicious "Sho-chiku-bai" pattern. This traditional motif combines pine needles (a long-lived and evergreen tree), bamboo (produces many shoots) and plum blossom (flowers even in the cold season).

Why does Textiles have such a fluffy reputation? 「テキスタイル」はなぜダサい傾向がある の？

Studying the techniques of Katazome and Yuzen in Japan opened my eyes not only to the unique and culturally-ingrained processes and materials of these techniques, but also to the mind-set surrounding them.; the way the finished textiles are categorised, presented and discussed.

Since returning to Australia, it's been no real surprise to see that Textiles here (with a capital T) is an entirely different kettle of fish.

　
日本に4年間も住んで、型染と友禅を勉強したら、日本に独特な材料、長い歴史のある道具や工程などについてだけではなく、それ以上に勉強できたのがあの染織作品は「どうのように思われている・発表されている・論じ合われている」ということだった。

オーストラリアへ帰国してから気づいたのは、驚くことではないけれど、ここの「テキスタイル」は日本とは全く違うものなのだ。

TEXTILES TODAY: black and red. cardigans. berets and wine. apparently.
テキスタイルの現状なのか。服は赤と黒で決まっているみたい。もちろんワインも登場しないと。

Earlier this year I was accepted for inclusion in the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award Exhibition for 2015. I didn't win the prize (of course, the 10K prize went to an artist already rolling in recognition and opportunities... sorry, still a little bitter...) but my work ("Canberra Blues") was displayed in a beautiful historic building along with that of 48 others!

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award Exhibition 2015

my work displayed beside beautiful wooden doors and stained glass

The exhibition really had a bit of everything

I was unable to attend the opening (Wangaratta is over 400km away from Canberra...if only Australia had Bullet-trains!) but went down later to see the show on display. I was really impressed with the breadth of textiles included. There were a few pieces that I wasn't too sure about, like miniature origami units of patterned envelope insides forming a large wall piece (how is that a Textile?) and a ceramic Budgie with a pair of "budgie smugglers"(speedo's) tossed on it's head (Yes, I can understand the Textile in that one but not the point...)

Anyway, I thought the selection committee and organisers had done a really good job of representing the many facets of what it means to make Textile Art. There was a bit of everything; and all of a really high standard. It felt like each piece had something to say. But contemporary Textiles is not always so well represented or carefully curated...

Wangaratta市美術館。煉瓦の本館は元々教会だったらしい
The Wangaratta Art Gallery heritgae building with lovely
red-brick, stained glass, high ceilings and polished wooden
floors. Apparently it used to be a Presbyterian Church.

6月に2015年度の「Wangaratta市現代テキスタイル賞展」に出品させていただきました。毎回ヴィクトリア州のかなり小さい都市であるWangaratta市の美術館で行われていますが、国内のテキスタイル世界では人気なイベントになっています。美術館自体も素敵な煉瓦のビルです！

日本の素晴らしい新幹線や特急電車が存在しないオーストラリアでは、4２０KMも離れているWangaratta市美術館でのオープニングには行きにくかったが、開催中に見に行きました。（車で京都から神奈川までぐらいの距離！）

今までにオーストラリアで見たテキスタイル展の中で、一番キュレーションがよかったかもしれないです。
「現代テキスタイル」という範囲に限られたのに、作家さんや作品の幅が広かったです。刺繍の作品、インスタレーションの作品、染めの作品、織りの作品、編み物の作品も展示されていました。どんな作品も個性や技術があって面白かったけど、一番いい所は、全部の作品は何かを言おうとしていたことでした。

I may be about to offend people...but I need to say it anyway.
What's with the way that Textiles is a Naff-magnet? (naff is such a great word...)

Other genres of Art, let's take Painting as an easy example, may attract masses of mediocre artists or uninteresting paintings. There may be plenty of ordinary Print-makers or average Sculptors, or maybe uninspired Photograhers. But Textiles, unlike the others, seems to have this unrivaled ability to generate the Naff. The Tacky. The just...not quite right.

This is probably in part because of the way that Textiles teeters on the cusp of "Art" and "Craft" (whatever they are anyway) and seems to encompass such a huge breadth of things.  I'm all for diversity in Art, and in Textile Art. I'm all for using whatever medium or technique allows you to express yourself best. But I can't be the only one who is sick of the fluffy reputation hanging round Textiles. What's the deal?!

でもテキスタイルって、よくダサい勝ちじゃないですか？？

日本の「染織」もその傾向があるでしょうが、オーストラリアやアメリカでの「テキスタイル」は得にダサいがちだと思います。

テキスタイル以外の美術をちょっと考えてみましょう。例えば絵画。絵画では確かに、技術が低くて、なにも個性がない作家というのは時々居ますよね。版画の世界にも居るでしょう。なにも感動させない写真家も居るはず。面白くない彫刻家も絶対どこかに居ます。

しかし、テキスタイルの場合はちょっと違う気がします。
面白くないや個性がないだけじゃなくて、
フワフワな、女性っぽい雰囲気がなんとなくあります。

これはテキスタイルって美術と工芸の峠に存在するからだろうし、ジャンルとして幅が広いのもあるでしょう（染め、織り、編み物、レース、裁縫、シルクスクリーン、綴れ織り、絞り、インスタレーション、等々も含んでいます！）テキスタイルの多様性は祝うべき物だと思いながら、フワフワな名声が嫌になっています。

What spurred this rant was when I made an attempt to connect with the Textiles scene outside of Japan by joining some moderated groups on Facebook. One is called "Textile Arts" which purports to showcase Textile ART, to the point of declaring this mission statement,

"Our mission: To elevate textile fine art beyond the craft arena into the realm of conventional galleries. View the latest works from both well known and emerging artists.

 and they even show this visual guideline for prospective posters. And yet....

...I am constantly awed by the, shall we say "variety", of posts to the group.

Textile "art" posted to the group

I'm sorry but WHAT THE?
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to make an arrogant proclamation that MY TEXTILES IS THE ONLY WAY or DOWN WITH CRAFT!

But I think the way Textile Art is spoken about is confused.

To put a Textile in the Art basket, I think it needs to be addressing an idea; trying to say something of value. I think this is why I was so impressed by the Wangaratta exhibition, the artists all had something unique and interesting to say with their work, and that made it interesting! 

この問題について考えるきっかけは、FBで「テキスタイル・アート」というグループに参加したときです。このグループの目標は次のように書いてありました。

「私たちの目標:

工芸の枠を超えて、テキスタイルをギャラリーのレベルまで上げること。

よく知られている作家の作品も、新鋭作家の作品を見せること。」

にもかかわらず、右のようなものが載っていました。毎日こんな物はグループに追加されています。何なんだ！

テキスタイルはこうだよ！とか、工芸はダメだ！とかを言おうとしていませんよ。ただ、テキスタイルのジャンルは理解されていなくて、もっとアートに近づきたいグループとしては成功していないと思います。

テキスタイル・アートにしたいなら、メッセージがないといけないと思うようになりました。技法は面白くても、手の仕事がいくら丁寧であっても、作品のメッセージ（テーマじゃなくて、個人の考えや気持ち）が欠けているととアートとはいえないと思います。

View Denise Ferris' website here →　http://www.deniseferris.com/

Denise Ferris, an Australian artist, Photography Lecturer and current Head of the ANU School of Arｔ comments in a recent article about focusing on technique versus saying something with that technique.

Denise.."specialises in nineteenth century photographic techniques, but says it’s important not to get too caught up in the technical aspects of photography. 

“For us （Canberra School of Art practitioners) it’s never just about the skills, it’s about the body of work that talks about concepts through materials,” says Ferris.

“I practice these old world techniques, but I’ve never practised this for the skill itself. I’m only interested when it’s parlayed to a concept or an idea, and is about pushing those ideas further. 

“That might not seem so revolutionary, but I think...this research and practice mentality is something different for [other Art Schools]”

Red Window - Photograph by Denise Ferris

オーストラリア国立大学美術学の学長・写真家のデニース・フェリッス氏は、１９世紀の写真技術を用いています。しかし、自分は技法そのものではなく、技法を通して表現する、と最近の記事で書きました。

「技法ばかりのではなく、技法を通して作る作品のコンセプトは大事だと思います。古い技法を用いってるのですが、技法だけで面白くない。この技法はコンセプトか、何かのアイディアを探る場合にしか興味をもっていないです。 」

With this way of thinking, quilts, knitting or felting could be quite welcome on "Textile Art"s Facebook page - but only if they are exploring or untangling some kind of idea.

こういう風に考えるならば、キルト、編み物、フェルトなども上述したFBページにも載せれるけど、コンセプトがある物に限られます。

下の作家さん、ルーク・ヘインズ（米国）は現代的なキルトを作っています。こういうのだったら、Textile Artとは言えると思いますが、フワフワな雰囲気がないのは男性なのだからかもしれない。

This Artist Luke Haynes might be onto something. I still have reservations but at least he is pushing the envelope and creating quilts that are more like contemporary art. Maybe it's something he can get away with because he's not a woman. Also, he graduated from Cooper Union, which is supposed to give him instant hipster Art street-cred.　Youtube Link

Or perhaps this quilt of a $10,000 note by Nina Paley is on the right track. It ticks the conceptual box... but I disagree with her opinon about high art being a price tag issue.

またこういうキルトもアートなのでしょうか。１万ドル札のキルトで、キルトの売る値段は材料・作る時給のお金より安いという皮肉なメッセージも含んでいます。

Having said all this, I'm not sure an exclusive mindset is beneficial for Textiles practice. It doesn't leave room for the talented makers with amazing skills. Nor does it leave room for Textile-ans who are still finding their voice.

But it sure would be nice for a change if Textile Art could lose it's fluffy reputation.

結局なの結論になったか分からないですが、

テキスタイルアートはこれからフワフワ、B級、ダサい雰囲気を無くしていけば、いいなあと思っています。テキスタイルでアートを目指しているなら、アートのように自分には大事なメッセージを表現しましょう。

きっと、最新鋭のジャンルになれるので。

A course in Nihonga - Japanese Painting. OR, "How to paint Broccoli" 「日本画体験」。または「ブロッコリーの描き方」

We just finished our summer break at Kyoto Seika University. During the break, various departments run short courses as part of the "Summer School" program open to the public offering things like printmaking, papermaking and ceramics. This year was my last chance to participate so I signed up for the 5 day course in Nihonga - Japanese style painting. It turned out to be great fun, and the longest I've EVER spent observing broccoli.
先週、京都精華大学の夏休みはやっと終わりました。夏の間に精華で「サマースクール」が開催され、ロクロ体験、木版画体験とかの短期コースが提供されています。今年は最後の京都の夏なので、五日間の日本画講座に参加することにしました。とてもいい経験でした。しかも、ブロッコリーを眺めるにはこんな長い時間を掛けるのは人生初めてだったと思います。

Kyoto Seika's 2014 Summer School courses.

A good friend finished her Master's degree in Nihonga last year so I had the chance to peek inside the Japanese Painting studios at Seika and see some of the materials and processes they use. She also came to see me working in Textiles and it struck us both how many similarities there were between Nihonga and Senshoku (textile dyeing). I've also read a little about Japanese Painting and the movement of Kacho-ga ("The Art of Birds-and-Flowers") so I had been keen to try out working with the mineral pigments for myself.
去年、日本画の大学院から卒業した友達がいます。彼女の作業スペースへお邪魔しに行って、日本画の素材ややり方をちょっとだけ見えました。テキスタイルの院部屋へ遊びに来た彼女も、日本画と染色には共通点が多いと気づきました。前に日本画やその中の「花鳥画」に興味を持って少し研究したので、今回、岩絵の具を実際に使って見るのを楽しみにしていました。

When I say "Japanese-style painting", I don't mean paintings of Mt Fuji or Geisha or ink-work scrolls or gold-leafed panels, or kneeling in kimono to paint (although all of these may be part of it!),

it's a term that has come to refer broadly to the traditional Japanese way of painting with mineral and powdered pigments, animal-based glue, gold leaf, Japanese paper, silk, and more.

Just a small selection of the Nihonga pigments we were let loose with.

The name Nihonga just means Japan (Nihon) Paintings (ga). Speaking with Murabayashi Sensei who led the course, he explained how the term Nihonga never existed before the Meiji Period. It came into usage as a way to differentiate it from the new, introduced form of Western Oil Painting/Youga, abura-e. Prior to that, Nihonga was defined more by the movements and schools of painting, such as Rimpa, Kano or Tosa.
日本画っていう言葉は、明治時代に輸入された油絵・洋画と区別できるように使われて来ました。その前に「日本画」というジャンルではなく、何々派（狩野派、琳派など）というふうに呼ばれました。

Nihonga is still taught in Universities and it tends to be categorised as this very traditional, nature-worshipping, almost spiritual study. Just see the English description of the course at Kyoto Seika here to see what I mean! I first saw Nihonga paintings in 2008 when I was an exchange student at Kyoto Seika University. My first reaction was that they appeared so pale and chalky. As someone who was scarred by my primary school teachers telling me "It's too pale! Use darker colours!!", I was inclined to think that a sign of poor workmanship. See below some examples of the kinds of paintings I first saw.
日本画は大学で学べます。自然、伝統、精神を重視しているコースというイメージが強い気がします。初めて日本画の作品を見たのが交換留学生の時でした。小学校で美術先生によく「薄すぎ！もっと濃い色を使ってごらん」と言われた私には、色が薄い日本画が分かりにくかったです。その時下のような絵を見ました。

Works from the Kyoto Seika Japanese Painting department

But I think that judgement was due to the fact that I didn't know what I was looking at (and also, they were works by 2nd year uni students..so, you know).
Now that I've experienced the layering of pigments and texture that comes from these, I have a better appreciation for the texture and colour quality of these paintings. Let's have a look at the process we went through in the short course.
でも、その時は日本画のこと全然知らなかったし、学際の展示だったから１、2年生の作品はずでした（１，２年生に失礼かもしれないですが）。５日間はとても短いけれども、日本画の色合いや砂のような感触をちょっとでもわかるようになった気がします。さて、講座で習った工程を見てみましょう。

Our main focus in the 5 days was to get a feel for using powdered pigments so the subject matter was not of such great importance. Thus, we were to choose from an array of vegetables and spend a day sketching out our composition. I chose a big head of broccoli and a red onion.　
講座の目標は日本画に独特な岩絵の具を体験することだったから簡単な主題として野菜を描かせました。私は丸くて面白いブロッコリーと綺麗な紫のレッドオニオンを選びました。
After sketching our vegetables, we proceeded to paint the colours of our vegetables onto the sketch with watercolours. I was a bit confused as to why we would paint the image in one medium, only to trace it onto another surface and paint it again...but I went along with it.
野菜を丁寧にデッサンしてから、水彩絵の具で色を塗りました。岩絵の具を描いていく野菜を一回水彩絵の具で描くというやり方はちょっと面倒くさいと思っていたが、岩絵の具を選ぶ時に参考に水彩スケッチが参考になりました。

Clockwise from top left: My broccoli and red onion, sketching, watercolour on sketch, and tracing the watercolour. 上左より、主題のブロッコリーとレッドオニオン、デッサン、水彩スケッチ、それをトレース紙に写した後。

So once we had our colours down in watercolour, we traced the design onto a gold edged paper panel. Because the panels had flecks of gold and were a bit shiny, we applied a base coat of go-fun （white chalk powder) to the areas where we would paint our vegetables. After that dried, it was finally down to the fun part of applying colour!
彩色してから金箔っぽいのパネルに移しました。パネルがつるつるだったから、一回胡粉（白い粉）を野菜のところだけに塗りました。それでやっと絵の具の楽しい段階へ行きました。

Gold panel with a base coat of go-fun chalk painted on. 胡粉を野菜のところに塗った後

Murabayashi Sensei brought in a huge array of Nihonga pigments for us to look at and have a go with. He showed us this amazing tray of bits and pieces of minerals and creatures that are the very base form of the most expensive tennnen iwaenogu Natural Pigments.
先生が色々な岩絵の具を見せてくれました。その中、こういうめちゃくちゃ高い天然磐絵の具の素材の鉱物もありました。綺麗でしょう！

they just LOOK expensive don't they? lapis lazuli, malachite, cinnabar... 貴重な天然岩絵の具の素材：朱、孔雀石、ラピスラズリ．．．

These materials are mechanically washed, filtered and ground to various particle sizes, used to obtain　different effects. The larger the number (11-13 etc) the finer the particles, and the lighter the colour. Coarser particles like 5 or 6 produce a darker colour. This effect was strikingly obvious with the box of shinsha : natural cinnabar (isn't this stuff toxic?!) . The deepest colour is a crimson and the lighter shades appear closer to orange.
この鉱物は機械で細かく砕いて、色んな細かさの粒子に分級されます。5番から13番で粒子の細かさを表示します。低い番号（５，６番）は粗くて色が濃い、高い番号の11，13番は細かくて色が薄いです。辰砂の天然岩絵の具を見たら、同じ素材なのに色調が異なるだとすぐに分かります。

Cinnabar Mineral pigments. Coarser and darker on left ranging to finer and paler at right, all from the same base mineral material. These could set you back $20 per 15grams. 辰砂の岩絵の具。細かい粒子（11-13番）はオレンジ色なのに、同じ素材が大きい粒子（6番とか）だと濃いピンクになります。

To actually apply the powdered pigments to your painting surface, they are mixed by hand with an extracted animal collagen called nikawa. This mostly clear liquid is a little thick (depending on individual preference) and it's got a bit of an animal smell, though not overwhelming. Using your finger you work the powder into a smooth liquid with an appropriate amount of nikawa.
岩絵の具を塗るために、指で「膠」を使って溶けます。膠がちょっと動物の匂いがするけど、慣れてきたら気にならないです。

getting into it, mixing pigments with "nikawa" 膠で溶けた新岩絵の具

The next step down from the Natural mineral pigments is Man-made mineral pigments. That is, mineral bases that have been chemically altered to give a broader range of colours than are naturally occuring. Apparently these only really took off after Western Oil Painting became more prevalent in Japan because artists working in Nihonga wanted a broader range of colours to rival the strong and colourful expressions of Oil Painting. These offer a really beautiful range of colours. They are cheaper than the all-natural pigments and they have awesome names too! "Back-of-leaf Green", "Red-bean", "Japanese Nightingale"...
次の種類は「人造岩絵の具」。つまり、鉱物などを化学的に変化させたものです。色は天然岩絵の具より多彩です。先生の話によると、明治時代に油絵が日本へ入って来たとき、日本画家は油絵の色や強さに印象を受けました。それで、同じような強さを表現したかったから色数を増やして欲しかったらしいです。色が並んでいるとすごい綺麗ですね！色名も面白かったです。「鶯」、「あづき」、「裏葉緑青」というような名前を読んだら、どういう色かはすぐに頭に浮かびますね。

So-called Manufactured Mineral Pigments. AMAZING colours. And all with great names too. 新岩絵の具。素晴らしい色だけじゃなくて、色名も面白い！

And next down the rungs in the nihonga pigment hierachy are the ones we were actually allowed to go nuts with, suihi enogu. These are what beginners usually start with and are also used for underpainting (shitanuri). Some of these were quite beautiful and others were just...argh! They reminded me of some of the really acrid chemical dye colours in textiles, especially the horrible yellows and pinks. Which makes sense because the cheap nasty ones like these are just go-fun chalk white that has been chemically DYED!  Apparently students are advised not to use these because they tend to bleed and stain if used in the underpainting!
次に来るのは水干絵の具です。講座で下塗りにこれを使いました。綺麗な色多かったけれども、下のような生っぽいの色もありました。安い染料のような色だと思ったら、化学染料で染められた胡粉らしいです！やっぱり。下塗りにこの水干絵の具を使うと表まで滲んで来るから使わなように学生に教えっているそうです。

EEEW! Nasty Chemical-looking suihi enogu dyed pigments.　生っぽい水干絵の具．．．

slowly adding layers of suihi enogu  

copying colours from the watercolours we had painted. 水干絵の具を塗っていく途中。水彩スケッチは役に立ちました。

下塗りが完成。base layers of suihi enogu complete

Once we had painted the vegetables in with the basic suihi-enogu we moved on to adding layers of the iwaenogu, with their coarser particles to add brilliant full colour and highlights. The iwaenogu layers remain see-through and the base colours show through. Of course, there are many ways to use the various pigments of nihonga and this is just the order we were taught over the 5 days.
水干絵の具で下塗りを完成したら、上に光に綺麗に発色する岩絵の具を塗りました。何回も塗って、粒子の粗いものも塗りながら完成に近付きました。

very coarse iwaenogu applied to my red onion in the final stages. 最後に塗った粗い岩絵の具。

完成したオニオンのクロースアップdetail of the onion with coarse iwaenogu in areas

Broccoli details. I was SO OVER BROCCOLI by this point! ブロッコリーのディテール。五日間目になったらもうブロッコリーを見たくないになった！

I was interested in the way Murabayashi Sensei was guiding us to use colour and describe form. He told us that it was probably hard for us to stop trying to add highlights and shadows but that in nihonga, its all about describing the weight of the object; it's fullness and presence. This is also acheived by leaving the background empty. Well, empty space in nihonga is not thought of as empty but as endless imagined space. We were also encouraged to use not only the colours we could see but colours that we wanted the viewer to feel.
先生の色や野菜の形についての説明も面白かったです。日本画では、物の説明より、重さや空間の方が大事だと説明されました。空間の使い方、色の濃さで存在感を描写する作業になります。それと、見える色を使うだけじゃなくて、「感じたい色」も入れたらいいと言われました。水彩絵の具が一番馴染がある私にはこういうのが難しかったですが、それこそいい経験でした。

"Broccoli & Red Onion" Melinda Heal 2014, haha. 完成！

In closing, I was talking to my friend about how nihonga is starting to be less popular in Japan or is tending towards Pop-art/manga. Then I realised that there is this long history of things that Japan adopted voraciously to the detriment of what was perfectly adequate before that. For example, chemical dyes almost completely replaced natural dyes, suits and western dress overtook kimono, vinyl floors are replacing tatami etc etc. And yet it is these original things about Japan that the world is so intrigued by and in love with. If nihonga gets swept aside too that's a real tragedy for Japanese art and culture.