HAKATA ORI: WEAVING THROUGH TO THE PRESENT
19 November 2018 – 31 January 2019
In November I went to see an exhibition at the Embassy of Japan in London. There is one room filled with beautiful examples of weaving. I had not heard of the Hakata-ori before and I was delighted to be introduced to another woven belt design.
Two handweavers were mentioned. Ogawa Zenzaburo and his son Kisaburo Zenzaburo.
If you have time, do go and visit this lovely exhibition.
'Protecting the heritage and customs of the past whilst preparing for the future is essential for any traditional craft to prosper in modern times.'
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed but I have searched the web so that you can see some of these lovely woven pieces.
Hakata-ori are wide warp faced belts woven in a very fine silk thread. The colours and patterns are traditional and have particular meanings. Go-shiki Kenjo go-shiki means five colours and Kenjo means a gift for the emperor.
Righteousness: purple is a noble colour and represents repose and grace.
Benevolence: green is the colours of spring and represents calmness, tranquillity and peace.
Courtesy: red represents true sincerity and symbolises happiness and wealth
Wisdom: navy is a powerful and dignified colour and represents confidence.
Trust: yellow is the colour of earth.
Here is an example of the Go-shiko Kenjo design.
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| Go-shiki Kenjo: A close up of a belt showing the traditional patterns and stripes. |
This foundation promotes Japanese traditional culture and has an interesting page about this type of weaving.
https://www.acros.or.jp/english/culture/craftwork_b02.html
Two YouTube videos
Here is a YouTube video with more information.
https://youtu.be/PhegIei-X9A
This video shows hakata-ori being woven in a college.
https://youtu.be/uGCEXZi06ik
Susan J Foulkes December 2018
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