© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 1

JAPANESE TEXTILE STUDY TOUR

The Japanese Textile Study Tour 15 - 25 April, 2012 In 2011 I visited Japan to explore Japanese textiles and the art of Shibori and

indigo dyeing. The beauty of Japanese art and textiles made a huge impression on

me. The highlight of my visit was to meet Bryan Whitehead the owner of

Japanese Textile Workshops.

Bryan, originally from the West Coast of Canada, has been living in Japan for 23

years, growing and processing his own indigo for 18 years, and raising silkworms

for 14 years. He runs a small textile school at his traditional Japanese farmhouse

that focuses on indigo, natural dyes, shibori, stencil dyeing, thread making from

silk cocoons, and weaving on traditional Japanese looms. The house is situated in

a mountain village in Fujino just outside of Tokyo. The village is well known for

silk farming. Bryan’s work with traditional Japanese textiles is often documented

in the Japanese media. His students come from many parts of Japan.

My interest in craft has been evolving over many years as I lived, worked and

became exposed to the cultures and crafts of various countries, from the Sahara

regions of North Africa and the equally fascinating empty quarter of the Arabian

Peninsula to the tropical regions of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. My Thai

mother influenced my love of sewing and basket making, while I explored and

worked with quilting, embroidery, spinning and natural dyeing. In addition to

exhibiting my work in Barcelona, Houston, Abu Dhabi and Melbourne, I have

been sharing my interests through regular posts on my blog. My recent interest

with traditional Japanese textiles took me to Japan, where I met Bryan.

When I met Bryan we discovered that his expertise in Japanese traditional textiles

and my own interest in crafts, influenced by extensive travel and an expatriate

lifestyle, complement each other well. So Bryan and I have decided to offer a

glimpse into the wonderful world of Traditional Japanese Textiles by arranging a

study tour available to a small group of no more than 10 persons. There are

currently no radiation health concerns associated with the meltdowns at the

Fukushima Nuclear Power plants in any of the areas covered by this study tour,

including the Japanese Textile Workshops farmhouse where you will be staying.

Tour Costs Tour Package:

AUD $ 3,800

Package Includes:

All fees for Japanese Textile Workshops, and all

supplies. If you want to dye extras for gifts etc.

the cloth and indigo will be available at cost

price.

All accommodation (first night at Shinjuku

Hilton, Tokyo and 10 nights in traditional

Japanese style farmhouse - double occupancy)

All breakfasts (Hilton buffet breakfast plus

healthy Japanese breakfasts)

All transportation within Japan

Meals: 2 evening meals (welcome and farewell

dinners)

Museum entrance fees

Bilingual (English-Japanese) tour guide service

as applicable

Personal luggage transfer – required (airport to

Fujino and return)

Cost of Hachioji Indigo workshop fee and all

supplies (approx. ¥2000)

Package Excludes:

International air fares

Travel insurance

Restaurant meals except the 2 evening meals

included above

Entrance fee to Onsen, Japanese bath

(approx. ¥600)

© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 2

ITINERARY Day One: Sunday April 15th You arrive at Tokyo Narita International airport. Nat and Bryan will

greet you and take you by Narita Express reserved seat train to the

Shinjuku Hilton for an overnight stay. We will have our tour

orientation and dinner in the Shinjuku district nearby.

Day Two: Monday April 16th After breakfast, depart Shinjuku Hilton and travel by train to the

village of Fujino. The village was chosen as one of 100 most scenic

traditional mountain villages in Japan by a leading newspaper in 2010

(1 hour 10min). From the station take a short minibus ride to the

Japanese Textile Workshops traditional farmhouse accommodation.

Time to refresh and settle into accommodation before having

Japanese lunch prepared by local Japanese cooks. Observation during

preparation and presentation of lunch is welcome. Activities start

after lunch with indigo dyeing several traditional Japanese tenugui

towels. Refresh and prepare for dinner a local Japanese grilled

chicken restaurant. You cook your own on charcoal with chopsticks.

Day Three: Tuesday April 17th In the morning you will work with indigo at the vats, dyeing shibori

cloth and looking at samples, books and prints about the breadth of

Japanese shibori. You will also learn to dye skeins of linen thread. For

each step of the dyeing process, Bryan will give you all the

information you need to ensure that you will have a very clear

understanding by the end of the study tour of how indigo works with

different kinds of vats, both in Japan and other countries.

We will all make and enjoy udon noodles for lunch with local

mountain vegetable tempura. Udon noodles are a traditional form of

Japanese wheat noodles. After lunch you will dye some small pieces

of silk with a yellow dye and over dye it with indigo to get greens. We

will look at the Japanese colour ideals and how the Chinese character

system names the colours so poetically.

Later in the afternoon we will explore the village and have dinner in a

local restaurant with an option to try out an onsen, a local hot spring.

The men and women bathe separately.

Dinner and the optional hot spring are not covered, but neither is

expensive. Both are experiences not to be missed.

Day Four: Wednesday April 18th This will be a full day of unique activities. We will take a day trip

from Fujino to visit a working fermentation indigo studio making

stencil dyed kimono, a silk textile artists’ studio, a walk by a cherry

tree lined river in full blossom, and perhaps a visit to a sake brewery.

We will take a special Japanese packed lunch to have in a Japanese

garden. Dinner will be at a traditional old Japanese house serving

grilled trout.

Day Five: Thursday April 19th A restful but interesting day at Japanese Textile Workshops. In the

morning we look at katazome Japanese stencil cutting and dying. We

will cut small stencils on persimmon tannin paper to use later. You

will have a chance to weave the thread you indigo dyed on Tuesday

on some traditional Japanese kimono looms. You will weave enough

to make a small Japanese style bag. The bag also requires a draw-

string. These will be braided on kumihimo stands. We will dye with

Madder, some silk, and then over dye part of it with indigo to get

shades of purple. Lunch will be at the Japanese Textile Workshops

farmhouse. Dinner will be a Japanese style BBQ under a canopy of

cherry blossoms.

© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 3

Day Six: Friday April 20th This is a special day with a trip to Mt. Fuji only one hour away by min-

ibus. Bryan will share his local knowledge as your tour guide. During

the day we will visit:

a silk museum http://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/kaiki/

a pottery studio

a visit to the Mt. Fuji climbers’ shrine

lunch at a beer brewery on the slopes of Mt. Fuji

http://www.fujizakura-beer.jp/

dine out, and be home in time to do some weaving or braiding or tie

dying before bed

Day Seven: Saturday April 21st A day trip to Tokyo to visit the famous Japanese Folk Crafts Museum

in the morning http://www.mingeikan.or.jp/english/

We will have time in the afternoon to visit shopping areas in Tokyo

and flea/antique markets. The museum entrance fee is covered as

well as the train to and from Tokyo. We will have lunch and dinner in

Tokyo.

Day Eight: Sunday April 22nd In the morning we will practice Stencil dying/katazome at the indigo

vats. We will use the stencils we cut on Thursday using a paste made

from rice as a resist. You will be able to make a myriad of these sten-

cil prints on cloth and use them as table centres, gifts, coasters,

patchwork pieces, and small bag material. In the afternoon we will

© 2011 Japanese Textile Study Tour 4

Payment of tour fee and registration details

A deposit of AUD $500 towards the tour package fee is required

at the time of registration to reserve your place on the tour.

The balance of the tour package fee is due by January 15, 2012.

Payment of the tour package fee may be made by instalments

up to this date. If the tour is fully booked, you will have the

option of being placed on a waiting list.

The deposit will be refunded (less a handling fee of AUD $100)

if you inform us of your intent to cancel by December 15, 2011.

In case of cancellation by the organisers, the fee including the

deposit will be refunded in full. The organisers are not responsi-

ble for refunding the cost of airfares and travel insurance in

case of cancellation.

For more information please contact:

Nat Palaskas

Email: japanesetextilestudytour@gmail.com

Visit tour blog at: http://japanesetextilestudytour.blogspot.com

Phone: +61 (3) 9562 1176

Mobile: 0418 660 980