"MITSUMASA WADA'S WORLD OF KINSAI-YUSEN". Collectif. Editions Koei Kinsai Yusen Institute Co., Ltd. Kyoto. 1984. Imprimé au Japon. Grand in-4, dos droit, couverture souple cartonnée illustrée en couleurs. Non paginé (112p). Textes bilingue Japonais / Anglais, traductions par Carolina de Waart & Motohiko Yoshida, illustré de très nombreuses reproductions photographiques couleurs et noir & blanc, pleine page pour la plupart.

 

"The birth of Kinsai-Yuzen owes much to the 'surihaku' masterpieces of the Momoyama and early Edo eras, as well as to the technique of 'inkin' introduced previously from China. To understand Kinsai we must know the history of gold and silver, and to understand the history of gold and silver is to study the history of human civilization. The desire of man for gold and silver has directly influenced economics systems and indirectly motivated the progress of culture and science... Gold, thus regarded as a sacred substance, really possesses an excellent physical nature as well. Taking advantages of the malleability of gold, craftsmen succeeded in making thin gold foil from gold plate. They subsequently succeeded in producing silver foil as well. Thus, they could finally decorate garments with gold and silver, which had been the dream of man for a long time. To wear a glittering costume with gold or silver foil must have given ancient people an excitement and pleasure that we, in a modern context, cannot fully understand. Two methods are essential in order to make use of gold and silver foil as decoration for garments. One is to weave a special thread coated with gold foil or paste golden foil on paper and cut it thinly. The other is to attach gold or silver foil directly onto the cloth. The former is called 'shishu' (embroidery), and 'kinran' (gold brocade), while the latter is termed 'inkin' (kinsai). Inkin was also called 'shokin' or 'nerikin' in China and originated in the Tang Dynasty, at about the same time that kinran was created… Kinsai had seen its day, however, and went out of fashion becoming a mere finishing touch among many other processes of hand-drawn Yuzen, from the Meiji period to now. Several reasons for this can be cited, such as the restriction of gold and silver use under the 'luxury prohibition laws' enforced repeatedly during the Tokugawa rule, or some characteristic faults in its techniques and materials. However, the deciding factor was the changing of times and fashions. It was not a time when a man could proclaim his personality and lead an active life. Neither were there any creative groups through which people could fulfill their wishes to create something at will. But now, I believe, we live in a time when the real value of Kinsai can be fully shown again. Kinsai-Yuzen is a unique technique in its combination of crossing rays which create many variations and produce a harmony of patterns and colors appealing to the modern sensibility. The following are brief explanations about the materials and techniques of Kinsai-Yuzen, which produces what I have called 'the Orchestration of Rays'." Extrait de "The history and technique of Kinsai" par Mitsumasa Wada.

 

Ref LCU0229