KUMASHIMA

by Kengo Kuma and Noriko Tsuiki

"KUMASHIMA" is the textile by a collaboration between Kengo Kuma, a world-renowned architect, and Noriko Tsuiki, a textile artist who has restored and revived Kokura-ori textiles. It is a new expression of Japanese textiles, created by two professionals fascinated by the abstract nature of stripes with "the power of plants" as the common language.

Leaf Vein Series

Each pattern has the delicate, three-dimensional gradation of the stripes expressed by the high-density warp. It also has the dynamic design that extends across the width of the fabric without repeating same colour. These features give each pattern a unique presence while fitting in naturally with architecture, interiors and furniture. The natural material of cotton, the colors of the motifs of plants and trees, and the beauty of shadows derived from sunlight emerge like leaf veins.

Kengo Kuma

Architect

Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He is currently a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo after teaching at the University of Tokyo. He was struck by Kenzo Tange's Yoyogi Indoor Stadium, which he saw at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and aspired to become an architect from an early age. At university, he studied under Hara Hiroshi and Uchida Shoya, and during his postgraduate studies, he travelled across the Sahara Desert in Africa to survey settlements and became fascinated by the beauty and power of local settlements. After working as a visiting researcher at Columbia University, he established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He has designed buildings in more than 30 countries (including the Architectural Institute of Japan Award, the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award from Finland, the International Stone Architecture Award from Italy, etc.) and has received various national and international awards. Aiming for architecture that blends in with the local environment and culture, he aims to design architecture which naturally merges with its cultural and environmental surroundings, proposing gentle, human scaled buildings. The office is constantly in search of new materials to replace concrete and steel, and seeks a new approach for architecture in a post-industrial society.

Noriko Tsuiki

Textile Artist

Born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1952.  Fascinated by the beauty of Noh costumes, she left Waseda University and studied dyeing and weaving, and began her creative work. In 1984 She revived the dormant Kokura-ori tradition and in 1994 revived the dormant Kokura-chijimi tradition.
She has received various awards including the Excellence Award of Commissioner for Cultural Affairs. Since 2007, She has been supervising designs for machine-woven Kokura-ori, the KOKURA SHIMASHIMA brand. Regular member of Japan Art Crafts Association. President of Yuh Textile Studio.