Shumei Kobayashi: Tsutsugaki Dyeing

Yuzen artists sketch various designs onto fabric using resist paste made of glutinous rice. The dyeing method is called Tsutsugaki Yuzen when the paste is applied to cotton or linen, while it is called Itome Yuzen or simply Yuzen when it is applied to silk.

The long history of Yuzen allows us to distinguish between the two different techniques. Tsutsugaki is the method used for items such as wrapping cloths and daily wear used by the common people, whereas the Itome technique is applied to finely woven, high-quality clothing known as Kimono.

Because of such differences, craftsman in the past specialised in either the Tsutsugaki or the Itome technique. However, Kanazawa’s Konya(dyer) was one of few places where both styles were practised in the master’s house until the Meiji era.

Shumei Kobayashi, who studied both techniques in Kanazawa, has given new life to the two styles of Yuzen. He applies the boldness of Tsutsugaki on silk just as successfully as he uses the delicate lines of Itome Yuzen on cotton.

Shumei is a rare artist who can handle both the Tsutsugaki and Itome methods freely, regardless of the type of fabric used. His art is truly a feast for our eyes.

By Shinichi Hanaoka
An authority in the research of Kaga Yuzen


1950	Born in Osaka, Japan
1970	Receives guidance from artists Motohiko Katano, Tatsuaki Kuroda, Uzan Kimura, Shin Kajiyama
1971	Receives award at First Hokuriku Dyeing Design Competition
1973	Selected at All Japan Textile Design Competition
1974	Graduates from Craft Department, Kanazawa University of Arts & Crafts. Joins Toyobo Textile Company as staff of Design Section Receives Encouragement Award at All Japan Textile Competition
1976-77	Joins Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, JICA
1978	Receives three awards at All Japan Textile Competition, wins the greatest number of awards
	Cotton Section Grandprix Award Interior Section Grandprix Award Apparel Section Award
1979	Tsutsugaki Noren Exhibition at Blackfriars Gallery, Sydney Receives award at All Japan Textile Competition Lecturer at Nakanoshima Arts College, Osaka
1982	Tsutsugaki Noren Exhibition at Craft Centre, Melbourne
1984	International Exhibition at Victoria Mace Gallery, Australia
1985	Tsutsugaki Noren Exhibition at Aladdin Gallery, Sydney
1986	Receives award at Asian Textile Design Competition Tsutsugaki Noren Exhibition at Cook Hill Gallery, Sydney
1987	Opens Design Studio Shumei
1988	Dyes costumes for Kaga geisha
	Noren tapestries and panels Exhibition at Cappacumbalong Craft Centre, Australia
1989	Creates five large Noren tapastries for Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Hawaii, using Tsutsugaki Yuzen techniques, commissioned by Tokyu Railways
1991	Selected as one of 100 Dyers, Japan, presented by Kyoto Prefecture in cooperation with the Japan Kimono Association and the Kyoto Textile Chamber of Commerce Exhibition at Kyoto Cultural Heian Museum, Kyoto
1992	Recording of NHK Television Broadcast The Revival of Umezome, the Roots of Kaga Yuzen
1993	Tsutsugaki Exhibition Shumei Kobayashi at Silk Love Gallery, Tokyo
1994	Tsutsugaki Exhibition Shumei Kobayashi at Erihana, Kanazawa
1995
1996	Exhibition Tsutsugaki Yuzen Dyeing by Shumei Kobayashi at the Japan Foundation, Sydney and the Canberra College of Arts Lecture and Workshop at the Canberra College of Arts
1999	Exhibition Tsutsugaki Yuzen Dyeing by Shumei Kobayashi at Craft Victoria Lecture at the University of Melbourne Creates large Noren tapastries and framed works for Tetsuya’s and Azuma restaurants
2000	Lecture and demonstration at Fukagawa Edo Museum, Tokyo 　　 Creates Noren tapastry for Tetsuya’s restaurant
2001	Lecture History of Natural Dyestuff at the Kanazawa Institute for the Renovation of Cultural Properties. Involved in the revival of Umezome
2002	Exhibition Tsutsugaki Art Exhibition by Shumei Kobayashi at Tetsuya’s restaurant
2003	Tsutsugaki Art Exhibition by Shumei Kobayashi at the Japan Foundation, Sydney, including lecture and demonstration
2004	Recording of NHK Television Broadcast Oto no aru Fukei
2005	Lecture and demonstration Japanese Classical Hand Dyeing Method as a visiting artist at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales Third Tsutsugaki Art Exhibition by Shumei Kobayashi at the Japan Foundation, Sydney
2007	Exhibition Furoshiki - Reviving a Dying Art at the Japan Foundation, Sydney Tsutsugaki Exhibition Shumei Kobayashi at Silk Love Gallery, Tokyo