We wandered through the small Kodai Yuzen Museum, gawking at the few, but absolutely exquisite, kimono on view. A grouping of dolls, each about 10" high, was in front of a series of miniature folding screens. Although each was clearly individually dressed and coiffed, I tended to ignore them until Ruth mentioned that they were examples of a particular craft in which the body is specially made with grooves into which the fabric is carefully tucked.
Upstairs, Ruth and I tried our hand at stenciling fabric, a crude approximation of the intricate, delicate Yuzen technique in which over 300 stencils are used to create the designs for a single kimono.As Ruth worked on a handkerchief, and I a tote bag, the efforts at communication with the gentleman who showed us what to do was the best part.
Like our waitress a few days ago, he spoke virtually no English, and we no Japanese beyond "hai" (yes) or "wakarimasen" (I do not understand). But again, with smiles and pointing and goodwill, we managed to follow his directions and end up being pleased with our projects.
We also enjoyed watching two kimono painters work in the show-workshop. I was particularly interested in the set-up of rollers around which were stretched the 12-15 meters needed for each kimono.
Once again, alas, we were not allowed to photograph the thing I most wanted to record.
