'The Kimono Is a Canvas': Master Keeps Tradition Flowing

Naoki Nomura, who is 59, is one of the living masters of the Kyo Yuzen style of kimono design, based on a dyeing technique perfected in Kyoto around the middle of Japan's Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1867. "Four Seasons of Kyoto," a show of Nomura's work now at the Japan Information and Culture Center, surveys the full scope of his craft. The motifs on the exhibition's kimonos range from almost-abstract riverscapes to relatively realistic close-ups on blooming cherry trees. Wearing traditional Japanese dress and speaking through an interpreter, Nomura discussed his craft.

I was born into a kimono family. And ever since I was little, I have always been interested in pretty things, in beautiful things. At the same time I've always liked drawing. So Kyo Yuzen was a way to incorporate my love of drawing as well as my passion and family tradition in kimono.

The kimono is a canvas. I am inspired by the style of paintings that were popular in the Edo era -- I am more inspired by that than Western abstract art. I often use a color called "sumi" -- it's actually taken from charcoal. And that's a traditional form of paint or ink, but it can still be incorporated into kimono design that is contemporary. Regardless of the era that it is, I try to make kimonos that appeal to everybody, that are loved by everybody. I hope grandmothers can wear them, as well as daughters and granddaughters. And within the past decade, men seem to be wearing more kimonos than before. But even though I personally wear a kimono every day, I understand that it's improbable to expect everybody to wear a kimono every day. So as long as I can see kimonos in tea ceremonies and parties, that makes me happy.

But when I create a kimono, I think less about the Japanese society of today than about how I can showcase the kimono to other societies. Many non-Japanese people wear my kimonos: I know Washingtonians who've bought kimonos from me, as well as New Yorkers and Europeans. But it is difficult to learn to wear them, so they go to someone else, like a kimono teacher, to help them. They are so enthusiastic about it that they are much quicker than regular Japanese people to remember how to wear it correctly, so the next time they can do it alone.

A kimono is not made to be seen, it's made to be worn. "Kimono" literally means "thing to wear." So when a viewer sees a kimono, I really want the viewer to imagine him- or herself wearing it, and then to appreciate its beauty. Rather than to imagine somebody else wearing it.

-- Interview conducted and condensed by Blake Gopnik

Four Seasons of Kyoto runs through July 10 at the Japan Information and Culture Center, 1155 21st St. NW. Call 202-238-6949 or visit http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc.