Contemporary Japanese Textile Creations [1]Art EssayMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
For your convenience I have listed other posts on Japanese textiles on this blogspot:
Discharge Thundercloud
The Basic Kimono Pattern
The Kimono and Japanese Textile Designs
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part I)
Textile Dyeing Patterns of Japan
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part II)
Sarasa Arabesque Patterns (Part III)
Contemporary Japanese Textile Creations
Shibori (Tie-Dying)
History of the Kimono
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part I
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part II
The History of the Obi
Japanese Embroidery (Shishu)
Japanese Dyed Textiles
Aizome (Japanese Indigo Dyeing)
Stencil-Dyed Indigo Arabesque Patterns (Part V)
Japanese Paintings on Silk
Tsutsugaki - Freehand Paste-Resist Dyeing
Street Play in Tokyo
Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile Designs
Japanese Colors and Inks on Paper From the Idemitsu Collection
Yuzen: Multicolored Past-Resist Dyeing - Part 1
Yuzen: Multi-colored Paste-Resist Dyeing - Part II

Contemporary Japanese Textile Creations
Hidden away in dark corners, brilliantly displayed on hanging racks, or folded neatly on shelves, beautiful Japanese textiles reveal themselves to the casual and the avid shopper alike. With their beauty and value in mind, Japanese shopkeepers mull over ways to display these creations. Some pieces have obvious functions - a wall hanging or a drape for the sofa - while others invite more thought for their display and require a great deal of ingenuity.

Maureen Duxbury combined a solid purple kimono of the Showa era with a Taisho-era obi of a different shade of purple[1].

Showing how Japanese textiles can be displayed will stimulate your interest to visually presenting traditional Japanese textiles in a more contemporary household format.

Pretty flowers and grasses are delicately embroidered by Shizuka Kusano in a very modern setting, enhancing an otherwise featureless wall[1].

Naomi Hoff used an old kimono to make a contemporary bedspread with striking color combinations[1].

A patchwork quilt made by Sunny Yang using various geometric and traditional Japanese designs from indigo-dyed cotton yukata fabrics. Note that it dramatically enhances the light coloured background[1].

In creating cushions, Shizuka Kusano used traditional techniques and motifs of Japanese embroidery, adding original designs to meet contemporary tastes and practical needs[1].

A two-panel folding screen by Maureen Duxbury with a Heian-period (794 AD – 1185) hunting scene from a formal kimono of the late Taisho era (1912 - 1926) completes the formality of the table setting[1].

Blue and white yukata (cotton kimono) fabric is used for a fan-shaped placemat with matching napkins by Tomoyo Tsuchiya[1].

Embroidery placemats are always a featured item. The basic techniques of Japanese embroidery are displayed in this sampler by Sachiko Suzuki: suganui (autumn flowers and grasses), sashinui (peony), nuikiri (mum), warinui (leaves), matsurinui (outline of leaves), and komanui (couching)[1].

To create sculpture-like wall-hangings Masako Hayashibe weaves with natural fibers dyed with natural dyes. Wire produces the dramatic three-dimensional effect[1].

The wall decoration of junior-hitoe (twelve unlined robes) embroidered by Sachiko Suzuki[1].

The embroidery of Seji Ishikawa is unique for its woven appearance. His wall decoration is embellished with peonies[1].

The image of clouds and skies are beautifully expressed by Akiko Shimanuki using a primitive weaving technique, in which the warp threads between two bars are braided by fingers [1].

Reference:
[1] S. Yang, and R.M. Narasin, Textile Art of Japan, Shufunotomo, Tokyo (1989).