My Oba (Aunt) likes to take us on picnics. She packs our lunch in Ryukyuan lacquerware. Ryukyuan lacquerware, just as with Ryukyuan textiles, have a distinct style different from that of surrounding cultures. Though distinct in its own way by the use of Ryukyuan artistic motifs, it is influenced by Chinese, Japanese and Southeast AsianContinue reading “Picnic Views…”
Tag Archives: Ryukyu Textiles
Kokusai Dori Views…
I like to walk and wander around Naha. Sometimes, i take a rest and enjoy the views along Kokusai Dori (International Street).
Okinawan Folk Music – Bashofu
Bashofu “beautiful song of the homeland…mountains so green, skies so blue…beautiful people too” 1. Umi no aosa ni Sora no ao Minami no kaze ni Midoriba no Basho wa nasake ni Te o maneku Tokonatsu no kuni Washita shima Uchina 2. Shuri no kojo no Ishi datami Mukashi o shinobu Katahotori Minoreru basho Ureteita MidoribaContinue reading “Okinawan Folk Music – Bashofu”
Closet Wish…
Someday i will open my closet and see my closet wish come true…a closet full of handwoven bashofu hand-dyed with Ryukyu Ai (indigo)…there will be some Ikat birds in flight and sparkling dragonflies too…
A Little Bird…
A little bird is perched atop my Okinawan High Loom. She is yellow, but a lighter yellow than the Fukugi dye on my handwoven Shuri Hana Ori threads…
Sugar Cane Dye
When my Okasan (mother) was a little girl, she remembers the local villagers processing newly cut sugarcane. She was often given a piece of cane as a treat on the way home from school by those working the cane in Izumi Village. Now, many Okinawans use sugarcane for dyeing. As in most Ryukyuan dye methods,Continue reading “Sugar Cane Dye”
Hai Sai!
Uchinanchu (people from Okinawa) speak the Uchina Guchi language. Hai Sai! is an everyday greeting translated to English as “Hello!”. Hai Sai friends!
The Silk Road – Journey Across Asia – May 30
Silk Spinning and Weaving iFest Dates: April 30-May 1; May 7-8 Time: Sat., 12-10 pm; Sun., 12-8 pm Where: Downtown Houston, Tranquility Park area Website: Houston International Festival – The Silk Road Ryukyu Heritage Textiles will be demonstrating along with the many talented members of the Contemporary Handweavers of Houston at the Silk Exhibit onContinue reading “The Silk Road – Journey Across Asia – May 30”
Off We Go…”Ikimashou”
My Okinawa family said “Off we go to Kijoka. Let’s go!” “We’re off to Sensei Taira’s bashofu art studio ikimashou (let’s go)!”
A Weave is Lost…
My Okasan (mother) says that “a Bashofu weave is lost unless the threads are knotted”…so, i practice tying knots… There are 20,000 knots in a single handwoven Bashofu kimono…so, i practice tying knots the way my Okasan taught me…
Scharine Kirchoff, Fiber Artist 