I think Kyoto is really good.
Is it because of its beautiful townscape with a charm of ancient city, the historic shrines and temples, and delicious restaurants/cafes?
Surely, those are the reasons too, but there is Nishijin.
Although decreased in number, there are still shops, studios and the skilled craftsmen gathering at Nishijin, which are to do with dyeing and weaving.
It would be reassuring to have somewhere close to you where you can visit and have a talk at any time when you are stuck and worried, looking for something, or have something in mind that you wish to try.
Here at Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture, we have “Kitsutsuki Kobo”.
“Kitsutsuki Kobo” is a studio for making and repairing wooden weaving looms and power spinners mainly, run by Yuichi Matsunaga and his wife Hanako.
Since they have a wide range of knowledge and skills that are not limited to looms and spinners, all kinds of people, things and information gather around the warm couple from all over Japan.
I requested to repair my loom in the past, too.
There is a weaving tool called “Takeosa” (a reed made of bamboo) which is like a fine comb. There are very few craftsmen who can make it nowadays. While the reed would be made of stainless steel if you buy a new one, they kindly offered me a secondhand Takeosa which was usable instantly.
They are also my precious friends who keep my company to hear my daydream “would it be possible to make a portable loom for travelling?”.
When I told them that I was looking for a secondhand loom, they introduced me to someone who was thinking to scale down the weaving classes and gave me a chance to have two looms, one for Oshima-tsumugi which is the textiles woven in Amami-oshima, and another for Kyoto Nishijin.
I have hitherto used just one loom but I have always wanted to have another one for weaving trial piece or adjusting the work in process.
The looms which had continued being woven properly in the classes were maintained well.
I knew that I was the only one who were going to use them but seeing the different characteristics of these two looms was intriguing too.
I ventured to take the both looms after consideration, thinking that it was a good opportunity.
Matsunaga-san kindly came over to my atelier twice to reassemble the looms that had been dismantled for transport.
Slightly before this, there was another loom that I happened to borrow from my friend who was worrying about where to place it in her house, so currently, my atelier has come to be crowded all of a sudden with four looms.
Well, I have to get on with my work to make them work.
Someday, I am thinking to let my daughter handle one of these looms but I will be very busy and short-handed for the time being.