A Stitch Down Through Time
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday January 22, 2008
Embroidery is one of Japan's dying arts. Louise Schwartzkoff talks to a needleman.
IT TOOK Kiju Fukuda a lifetime to master the techniques of Japanese embroidery but it may only be a few years before his art form is extinct.As one of the Living National Treasures of Japan, a highly valued title awarded to a few remaining traditional artisans, it is Fukuda's responsibility to teach his skills to future generations. But these days there are few who wish to learn. In all Japan, there are just 30 embroidery apprentices and Fukuda believes fewer still will complete their training. Speaking through an interpreter, he worries about the future of his craft. "It takes so much concentration and effort to create something, and most people today find that hard. Many of the Japanese crafts are in danger of dying out," he says. At 75, he spends eight hours a day stitching intricate designs to adorn silk kimono. He kneels on the ground before a large wooden frame, making stitch after tiny stitch to create intricate patterns across 15-metre bolts of fabric.The long hours and close work are a physical strain. Fukuda kneels on a cushion to protect his knees and worries about his eyesight. Nevertheless, he has no plans for retirement. "I will keep going until the end of my life," he says. "I have an obligation to raise new embroiderers for the future."He first sat down at a loom as his father's reluctant pupil. More interested in machines than coloured silk, he wanted to become an engineer but his strict father expected his first-born son to take over the family business.Sixty years later, Fukuda is the first and only Living National Treasure in the field of embroidery. His designs, from delicately stitched flowers to stylised representations of clouds and water, are in high demand with Japan's wealthiest kimono enthusiasts. He has travelled the world teaching and exhibiting, and is now in Australia for the first time for a demonstration and display of his work in Sydney.His method of stretching the fabric over a rolling wooden loom has been used in Japan for 300 years but he draws upon a style that was first introduced to Japan from China more than a thousand years ago. Despite his enthusiasm for the old techniques, Fukuda acknowledges the need to adapt to changing times. "If you just follow the tradition blindly, the tradition will die," he says. "What you need to do is create something new."Kiju Fukuda's work is on display at the Japan Foundation Gallery, Chifley Square, until Thursday.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald