The Music of Color

Book excerpt: A creator in the medium of textiles, the author is known in Japan for her essays on color, nature, and the work of weaving and dyeing. This book collects some of the author's writings together with photographs of her art and the natural world that inspires it. From winter snows to spring blossoms, from the foothills of Japan's Southern Alps to the back streets of Gion, Kyoto, the author initiates the reader into areas of Japanese culture where the boundary between craft and art is blurred. The author offers insight into the sources and use of natural color, along with a glimpse into the world of Japanese textiles, from silkworm and loom to finished kimono. Travels from Basho's Deep North to the western island of Kyushu are recorded, as are accounts of the author's encounters with other figures in Japanese aesthetics such as lacquerware master Kuroda Tatsuaki and poet-critic Ōoka Makoto.--adapted from jacket.