Through thin white lines of Itomenori glue, Osao Futatsuka expresses the beauty of the ever-changing natural world such as waves, winds or rains on Kimono. His dynamic drawings of streams of water and atmosphere allow us to sense even moisture or scent in one pattern of Kimono.

Drawing one stationary carp, this work has a different style from Futatsuka’s usual focus on the ‘beauty which is wearable’. This tablecloth was inspired by Futatsuka’s encounter with a Koinobori (carp streamer for Boy’s Festival) which was made in the end of the Edo period. He measured the actual size of the old Koinobori, scaled it down accurately, and selected the colours close to the originals without using chemical dye.
It seems to be a rough design at a glance, but the dynamism and feeling of vitality within each line in the carp’s barb, tail, or pectoral fin, is just marvellous.

Futatsuka’s carp is reminiscent of the carp of the Ukiyoe woodblock print artist Hiroshige Utagawa. Its eye looks so powerful, as if fresh on a cutting board looking at us from inside of the tablecloth and saying ‘decorate me however you wish’.
Since the quality hemp fringes look like water streams when they are hung in a Tokonoma alcove, this arrangement was made for the Boys’ Festival by symbolising it as a ‘carp shooting up a waterfall’ (*1).

(*1) Carp shooting up a waterfall
Based on the story in which a number of fish tried to swim up a waterfall called Ryumon (dragon gate) in the rapids of the Yellow River in China, but where only a few carp succeeded and became dragons, this idiom indicates one’s social distinction or advancement. From this, the word Toryumon (literally climbing Ryumon) indicates a gateway to success.

Osao Futatsuka

Biography
Born 1946 in Toyama Prefecture
1967 Started his apprenticeship at a Kaga Yuzen dyeing studio in Kanazawa City
1974 Became independent as a Yuzen dying artist
1975 Won the first prize in ‘The 22nd Japan Traditional Kogei -Art Crafts- Exhibition’
1999 Invited to exhibit in ‘100 Meilleures Objets d’art Contemporains au Japon (100 Best Contemporary Art Crafts in Japan)’ (Mitsukoshi Etoile, Paris, France)
2006 Received the ‘Medal with Purple Ribbon’ from the Cabinet Office of Japan
2010 Designated as an ‘Important Intangible Cultural Heritage’ holder in Yuzen dying

Awards
1991 Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award in ‘The 28th Japan Traditional Textile Arts Exhibition’
1995 Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award in ‘The 32nd Japan Traditional Textile Arts Exhibition’
1997 Asahi Shimbun Company Award in ‘The 44th Japan Traditional Kogei -Art Crafts- Exhibition’
2000 Minister of Education Award in ‘The 47th Japan Traditional Kogei -Art Crafts- Exhibition’

photo:hiraku ikeda