TAKHASHI, Kan - Tokyo Yuzen - 77th Birthday Exhibition

This September at Ginza Motoji, we will be holding an exhibition this September to celebrate the 77th birthday of the most prolific makers within Tokyo Yuzen, Takahashi Kan. Join us from Friday 13th to Sunday the 16th of September to see his recent work for yourself.

We will be holding the "77th Birthday Commemorative Exhibition" for Mr. Hiroshi Takahashi, a master of Tokyo Yuzen, from Friday, September 13th to Monday (holiday), September 16th, 2024. In this announcement, we will introduce the highlights of the exhibition, touching on the characteristics and charm of Mr. Takahashi's works, as well as his warm personality.

Uncountable dots, all by hand.
Blending Modernity with Fluidity,
Each Work is Uniquely One of a Kind.

When one thinks of Yuzen, an image of brightly colored flowers, finely painted birds, sparkling streams may come to mind. In a great deparute from the yuzen before him, Takahashi Kan with a restrained pallet of just a few colours, and forms consturcted of just dots and lines.

The most astonishing part, is that each dot and line has been carefully painted by hand. The pointillism of kimono.  Deep in concentration from morning till night, Takahashi painstakingly works on his kimono, dot by dot. 

 Takahashi Kan, Houmongi「Gesseki」
【70th Nihon Kogeikai Entry】

Takahashi Kan and his tsutsunori, the cone used for piping nori (resist paste) in the creation of his yuzen.

At first glance, you might think that the theme is abstract geometric patterns, but Takahashi says, "I don't consider it abstract. I design by shaping things like natural phenomena—the wind blowing or the rain falling."

TAKAHASHI, Kan.
Nagoya Kyusun Obi「Invigorating Flow」

The work is modern and can seamlessly blend into Western-style outfits without any sense of discord and can be worn year-round, may appear sharp and cool at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you can feel the breath of life in every detail, with a pleasant, subtle rhythm. While there are no superficial patterns of traditional motifs like flowers, birds, wind, or the moon, the essence of what these motifs evoke—the scent of flowers, the chirping of birds, the pleasantness of the wind, and the light of the moon—is symbolically expressed.

Takashi Kan - Houmongi「Rin-Rin」
【63rd Nihon Kogeikai Entry】

How is tsutsunori (筒糊) different to makinori (蒔糊) ?

Makinori is a technique where dried nori is crumbled and sprinkled onto the fabric. the fabric has been preprepared with masking tape, and when its removed, a sharp line between the solid color and spotted pattern appears.

Takahashi Kan is known for tsutsunori, where he draws out dots of resists paste directly onto the fabric with a small piping bag. This results in a light fully of dots, with a soft border between the pattern and solid areas. 

Takahashi Kan had a unique apprenticeship, learning directly from two Living National Treasures. One of them was Katsuma Nakamura, a founding member of the Japan Kogei Association and a pioneer in establishing Tokyo Yuzen dyeing. The other was Mitsugi Yamada, a senior disciple of Nakamura. From Nakamura, Takahashi learned perspectives and ways of thinking, while from Yamada, he primarily learned technical skills, including the application of resist paste.

As well as his recent works, a portfolio of his illustrations and tracings from his time as an apprentice will also be available to view in store.

The work above is from when Takahashi was about 18 or 19, just as he began to apprentice for Nakamura Katsuma. 

Takahashi was born to a father who was a Yuzen pattern designer and a mother who practiced Japanese embroidery. In high school, he majored in dyeing chemistry, enjoyed design classes, oil painting as part of the art club. By the age of 18, he already possessed artistic sensibility and excellent painting skills.

The illustration above is titled "Musashino" from the year 1990.

TAKAHASHI, Kan
Platinum Boy Silk, Nagouya Kyusun Obi「Nami」

Takahashi Kan, as raised by Nakamura Katsuma and Yamada Mitsugi

A solitary Yuzen artist who studied under two Living National Treasures, Takahashi Kan has created a unique beauty in the world of Yuzen. His designs, composed of delicate line drawing and pointillism with resist paste, and a limited palette of dye colors, transcend the concepts of figurative and abstract art, capturing fleeting moments of the natural world with a worldview that is sometimes serene, sometimes majestic.

A man of few words, he has dedicated himself earnestly and sincerely to the creation of his art. We are proud to showcase his latest works, including new pieces made with Platinum Boy silk, as well as his entries for the upcoming crafts exhibition.

Please take this opportunity to view the sixty-year journey of his artistic achievements.

Take a look at all works here

About TAKAHASHI, Kan.

Kan Takahashi’s works, with their use of cool colors and geometric patterns, exude a sense of modernity, yet within them lies a vibrant dynamism, as well as an underlying softness and warmth. The countless dots that appear on the fabric are not created by resist-dyeing with makinori, but by an incredibly painstaking method where each dot of nori is placed individually. The subtle variations in the density of the dots give the patterns a sense of depth and three-dimensionality, showcasing a rich aesthetic expressed solely through the relationship between line drawing with paste, pointillism, and ground dyeing (hikizome).

While it may seem as though the designs are composed entirely of geometric elements unrelated to the natural world, they transcend the boundaries of figurative and abstract art, capturing the very essence of movement, such as the flow of water or the swaying of branches in the wind.

Timeline

1946 - Born in Tokyo
1965 - Became an apprentice under Katsuma Nakamura (Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property, Yuzen), working as a live-in student
1977-1995 - Served on the restoration committee for the Japan Kogei Association's cultural property preservation project.
2007 - Participated in the "Five Yuzen Artists Exhibition" (Wako Hall)
2008 - Received the Encouragement Award at the 55th Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition
2015 - Received the Encouragement Award at the 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition
Currently, a full member and auditor of the Japan Kogei Association, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
Serves as a juror for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan Traditional Craft Dyeing and Weaving Exhibition, and Eastern Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition.