Engraving techniques for Yuzen-style stencil dyeing

Kyoto style Yuzen (also referred as Kyo-Yuzen) consists in a wide variety of dyeing techniques, including hand-painted yuzen, dip-dyeing, wax-dyeing and tie-dyeing.
Yuzen carvers are specialists in making paper stencils (also called katagami) used for
the dyeing process.
The paper is made by coating three sheets of Japanese paper with persimmon tannin, pasting them together and steaming them in a chamber (muro).
The intricate, and exquisite designs carved without preliminary sketches require outstanding skills from the engraving craftsmen.　
50 years ago, Takeshi Nishimura followed his father's footsteps into the world of yuzen carving.

You can see the difference between a good stencil as it lasts longer, up to 50 times
when dyeing, when bad quality stencils will be efficient only 10 times with poor dyeing results.
In order to make a good katagami stencil, even if you work on it 8 hours per day, you would need 2 weeks to achieve it.
When I was young, I wanted to be faster, seeking high efficiency.
I could work without sleeping during 3 days.
I felt that if I stopped working my senses would decrease.

Since the Japan’s economy bublle burst in the 1990’s, the kimono industry has been going downhill and with it all the craftsmanship economy related to it.
Almost before turning 60, in 2012, I felt that I had to do something so that this 400 years old know how and legacy won’t vanish. 

Towards new possibilities with Kyoto Contemporary

When Takeshi Nishimura, who was on the verge of going out of business, learnt about
'Kyoto Contemporary', a project initiated by the city of Kyoto aiming at promoting traditional crafts abroad, he decived to give it a try.

For Kotaro Nishibori, from Hiyoshiya Umbrellas studio, Kyoto Contemporary was a way to share his experience of international business to other craftsmen of Kyoto.
With a network of international designers and buyers, together with Takeshi Nishimura,
they work on new products using the engraving technique, to seduce new clients.

What moved the jury members present at the interview, were not the so-called traditional kimono designs, but rather the sculptures that Ms Nishimura drew freely away from her work.
The face of her cat at home and a Buddhist statue, which Nishimura finds her spiritual home in.
The stencils on which these images were drawn clearly conveyed Nishimura's pure desire to carve them.

The challenge with such technique was real and itw as not easy to convince international designers of the potential of engraving stencil technique.
But the Kyoto Contemporary team could convey the value and genuine work of Takeshi Nishimura.

More than Katagami, the Yuzen dyeing craftsmanship

As a prototype, a first try on lacquer paper and paper with gold leaf was done, but the results were not good enough.
Designer and Kotaro were sitting in a dimly lit izakaya pub, arguing about the development possibilities while looking at the stencils in front of them.
Kotaro received a call on his phone and the screen lit up, highlighting the dots of the katagami stencil. Something flashed between the two of them: 'This is it'.

The idea was to "combine the delicate art of engraving with light and enjoy the patterns of the stencil.
The first iPad case born from this idea was a leather iPad case with yuzen engraving.
Unlike carving on paper, which he was used to, carving through leather is not an easy task, and for a while he suffered from throbbing pain in his fingers.
However, Nishimura overcame such hardships and took part in the 2013 Maison et Objet international trade fair in Paris, where he won the admiration and respect of the locals.

When I was showing my works at Maison & Objet, visitors were impressed and some of them even asked me to shake hands.
I was very happy and moved to know that they were interested in my work. It was a big move for Nishimura’s life who was in the shadows for so long.

Expanding collaboration with international designers
and artists.

At this first international exhibition, Nishimura was called 'Legend' and became familiar with local creators. Invitations to collaborate increased, such as the leather decorative items of the 'LANDSCAPE COLLECTION', candle shade 'Kioto -Komorebi-' made with cedar wood, and the mobile decorative object shown during an exhibition in Paris, during June 2018.

Nishimura had the opportunity to give lecture to famous museum in France (Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris).
It reminds me when Kotaro Nishibori  told me "you don't sell only katagami, you sell techniques", which brought me to where I am today, and also gave me the curiosity to think that I could apply my skills to other materials as well.
I guess it's a matter of meeting all kinds of people."

Although he says his eyes tire more easily than when he was younger,
Nishimura says he can still concentrate on carving for three hours straight. He enters his workshop at 8.30am every morning to change the water for the Jizo and Buddha, then sharpen his small knife and prepare for work.
He works until late at night, often staying overnight in his workshop, but he laughs unconcernedly, saying, "I want to work now.

It has been several years since he set himself the goal of holding a solo exhibition in Paris when he turns 70.
Although he has taken a detour due to the Covid-19, looking at the sparkle in his eyes,
I am sure that Nishimura will reach this goal in the not-too-distant future.