25897 Living National Treasure Serizawa Keisuke Naeshirogawa Kiln Design Indigo Ground Tsumugi (Cloth, Stencil Dyeing, 1955)

Height 65cm, 80cm (including frame)
Width 35cm x 50cm (including frame)

This work was made by the great dye artist Serizawa Keisuke (1895-1984), who, after meeting Yanagi Soetsu and becoming fascinated with the decorative techniques of Okinawan Bingata, began his path in dyeing, focusing on stencil dyeing, and, with his natural talent for color and pattern, created a series of fresh and inventive works that were not bound by the conventional framework of dyeing, leading to him being recognized as a Living National Treasure. The Naeshirogawa Kiln was located in Shimoijuin Village, Hioki District, Kagoshima Prefecture. It was the home of a settlement of potters who had been taken from the Korean Peninsula by the Shimazu army during the Keicho War, and Naeshiro ware was produced here. The workshop still remains today, producing Satsuma ware.