Attendance at Kaga Yuzen Workshop (14th November 2022)

On Tuesday the 14th of November, Kaga Yuzen master Hitoshi Maida gave a workshop in Edinburgh, supported by the Japan Foundation and the Sasagawa Foundation. Kaga Yuzen is a traditional kimono dyeing technique that has been developed in present-day Ishikawa Prefecture and has been practiced for 400 years, with an emphasis on depicting nature. Mr. Maida is active not only in the kimono industry, but also in interior decoration and product packaging design using the Kaga Yuzen technique, as well as in numerous workshop activities and lectures abroad. Mr. Maida gave a lecture on the fundamentals of Kaga Yuzen, including kimono dyeing, which is considered one of the basic techniques. Mr. Maida was inspired by the natural surroundings of Inverness, which he had visited a few days before, and expressed his enthusiasm to one day create a kimono with that scenery as a motif.

Next, Mr. Maida demonstrated the dyeing process and the participants had a chance to try their hand at the technique while learning from him, making this a very valuable opportunity to learn about traditional Japanese artistry and craftsmanship, including the kimono and the dyeing process.