Exhibit of Ryukyu Kingdom era garments reproduced by Kyoko Shukumine displays woven colors that can’t be expressed with paints

Exhibit of Ryukyu Kingdom era garments reproduced by Kyoko Shukumine displays woven colors that can’t be expressed with paints

Garments of the monarchic era reproduced by Kyoko Shukumine based on her research of clothing from the Ryukyu Kingdom era kept at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, on April 14 at the Naha Civic Gallery


April 20, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Yoko Takaesu

 

Aspiring to bring back the beautiful culture of clothing and accessories from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, Kyoko Shukumine, age 84, textile master of Shuri, is working to reproduce clothing, sashes, and other textile arts from the end of the Ryukyu Kingdom era. Many Ryukyu/Okinawa textile arts were lost during the Battle of Okinawa. Shukumine has for many years studied and researched the Ryukyu textile arts kept at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin in Germany and reproduced the techniques of these textile arts. The bold patterns and brilliant colors are eye-catching. She will be displaying around 90 pieces, including 12 pieces of reproduced clothing, at a textile arts exhibit at the Naha Civic Gallery from April 20 to 25.

 

This is a rare opportunity to view reproduced works of clothing from the Ryukyu Kingdom era all in the same place. Shukumine is a craftsperson specializing in “authentic Shuri textiles,” an Intangible Cultural Property designated by Okinawa Prefecture, and has also been involved in research and education at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. This is her first time opening an individual exhibit in Okinawa.

 

It was in 1884, after the Ryukyu Disposition (annexation; 1879), that Ryukyu arts and craft works traveled to Germany. At the time, the then-director of the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, who was well-versed in Ryukyu arts and craft works, feared the disappearance of the traditional culture as modernity progressed and collected and stored Ryukyu arts and craft works via the German Embassy in Japan.

 

Shukumine visited Germany twice, in the early 1990s and in 2012, to spend time at the museum and research 117 pieces of textile arts from the Ryukyu Kingdom era. She used a magnifying glass to count the number of threads in the fabric, studied the combination of warp and weft threads, and drew design sketches.

 

Through her meticulous research, Shukumine discovered unique coloring born from certain combinations of warp and weft threads. The tonality resulting from weaving a blue weft with a red warp creates a color similar to lavender or grapes. “This color can’t be created with paints. The process of creating colors while building experience is delightful,” she said. Regarding pattern, present-day hanaori weaving uses “small patterns,” while that from the monarchic era incorporated large, bold patterns.

 

The reproduced works are given imaginative names like “Indigo Silk Hanakura Garment–Coral Reef in Summer” and “Silk Red Hanaori Garment–Color of Passion.” An elegant tapestry made using techniques such as hanaori and kasuri is also on display and is not to be missed.

 

(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)

 

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