White Waves

 
Bold bands of indigo blue and white cross a quiet ground of finely woven checks.
Within these bands, curved motifs repeat in a steady rhythm, creating a striking contrast between stillness and movement.
 
The composition draws upon noshime, a style of patterning used in the formal dress of samurai during the Edo period.
One of its distinctive characteristics is the placement of entirely different motifs within a single length of cloth.
 
Rather than blending gently into one another, the contrasting sections meet with clarity, lending the design a sense of strength and decisiveness.
 
All the colours were created using natural dyes.
The blue was dyed with indigo, while the green was produced by combining indigo and gardenia.
 
The curved motifs are formed through the kasuri technique, which creates subtle shifts and softly blurred edges.
These delicate variations bring movement to the otherwise sharply structured composition.
 
Rather than reproducing a historical noshime design, this work carries its spirit into a contemporary kimono.
The quiet checked ground and bold horizontal bands, the straight lines and flowing curves, coexist within a single woven cloth. Together, they embody the strength and decisiveness needed to unite contrasting elements.

Kudzu Threads Dancing in the Current

Making Kudzu Thread

Weaving