People say it is hard to get under the skin of Japan as a foreigner, and this is even more the case in Kyoto, a proud city which highly values tradition and ancestry. Even though we were there for six months, and I can speak the language, it was not until the fifth month that something happened which made me feel like I had managed to peep behind the curtains.
When wandering through the textile district of Nishijin one day, we stumbled across a beautiful kimono design studio. Housed in a large barn-like building, Miura-san’s lofty open studio, with its wide wooden floor and high timbered ceilings was a dreamy space. The walls were lined with exquisite fabrics and kimonos on show, while the space in the middle was almost empty, but for a couple of low tables, sketching paper and a pot of pens.
Miura-san designs high end contemporary kimonos – often bespoke – for clients across the city. He also has a line in noren curtains. Noren are fabric dividers which hang across the entrance of businesses all across the city, providing a layer of privacy when the door is open, as well as protection from the sun and wind, and advertising space to announce what the shop or business sells. They are hung up at the beginning of the day to show a shop is open for business. Often made of linen and strung from bamboo, they usually feature delicate ink paintings or beautifully drawn Chinese characters. They are at once mysterious and inviting. And I really wanted to learn how to make one.
So I asked Miura-san if he would teach me. From his point of view it was probably all a bit strange. This random foreigner turned up at his studio on her little bicycle, wandered in, asked to look around, proceeded to ask loads of questions about his kimono designing and then asked if he would teach her how to make a noren. But later on he told me that he had been fascinated to have the opportunity to teach someone from overseas who could actually speak Japanese, so it was something of a cultural experiment for him too.
He tentatively said he would think about it, and asked me to come back the next day with a sketch of what I would like to make. I went home and made a mini version of my curtain out of washi paper strung on a disposable wooden chopstick. I nervously handed it over to the master, waiting for his approval. At first he frowned (oh dear…) and then his face was lit up by a huge smile. “Ii desu ne…” (Oh this is good) he said. Phew! High praise from such a designer. And with that he took me under his wing as his first noren student, and so began my noren-making adventure. I spent four days in his studio, back and forth as things dried, or got dyed, or stretched, or washed. Over the next few days I will share this fascinating process in stages, and show you what I made.
I am so glad I followed my curiosity, took a deep breath and asked him to teach me.
Why don’t you try it with whatever you would like to learn?
You never know, your dream teacher might just say yes!
