We were pleasure to hold the Special Exhibition COSMIC WONDER with Kogei Punks Sha “NONO a native spirit of Kami and Cloth” at Iwami Art Museum.
This exhibition has been realized with the hope of finding future connections between man and nature. We examine the practices of people who live in harmony with their environment, their views on nature and spirituality, as well as the resurgence of interest in natural fabrics in various parts of Japan. We proudly invite “Cosmic Wonder with Kogei Punks Sha”, who continue to explore different materials and handmade washi paper, which has ancient roots in Japanese culture, to present natural fabrics chosen from their unique perspective, spinning devices such as the spinning wheel and loom, and potsherds of Jomon-era earthernware, which retain marks of fabric textures, alongside performances using handmade Japanese washi and new video and photography work. In the past, people spun fibers from plants taken from their immediate surroundings, making fabrics, and then constructing clothing and tools to sustain their lives.These natural fabrics can be made from fuji (wisteria), kuzu (arrowroot), kozo (paper mulberry), hemp, ramie, shinanoki (Japanese linden), basho (Japanese banana plant), and ohyo (Manchurian elm), to name a few. They deeply reflect the culture unique to each area and the practices that have nurtured them. Making natural fabrics by hand starts with producing the fiber, which requires much perseverance. One cannot imagine how much work it would take if it were done today. Such precious fabrics have been highly regarded and cherished in their home regions. In Shimane, where there is a tradition of fuji-ori weaving, the worn boro fabric was battered back to pulp. When it is used to the end, nothing goes to waste.
Today, we have come to a stage where we need to reevaluate the relationship we have between nature and man. In exchange for our convenient lifestyles, we have contaminated the planet and altered our environment perhaps to the point of no return. On the other hand, the way our lives pass along, with the energy provided by this earth, will not change no matter what period we live in. What do they show us now, these fabrics that exist from the times we were nurtured by the nature around us and cherished what we had? In present times, where there is an abundance of information, the future options we can choose from may be reflected in the very presence of these natural fabrics and handmade papers.
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Exhibition period: March 20 – May 16, 2021
Venue: Iwami Art Museum
Opening Hours: 9:30-18:00 *Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
Closed: Tuesdays *Open on May 4 (Tue.)
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Related Program
Special Talk “Reading NONO“
We will invite Shinichiro Yoshida, the contemporary artist and director of the Research Center for Early-modern Hemp, who collects and researches natural textiles with a focus on hemp cloth, and Yasushi Inomoto, who has moved to Kamiseya in Miyazu, Kyoto,
the hometown of fuji cloth, in order to preserve its tradition, to hear about their work and research.
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2021 14:00-16:00
Venue: Lecture Room
Capacity: 25（by order of application）
Fee: Free Admission
Speakers: Shinichiro Yoshida (Director of the Research Center for Early-modern Hemp), Yasushi Inomoto (Advisor to the Tango Fuji-ori Preservation Society)
Moderators: Kogei Punks Sha (Yukinori Maeda, Sumiko Ishii）
Photo:
(top) “Winter landscape of Oidani” 1971 / Photography: Shozo Sumita
Oidani Valley in Kaneshiro, a mountainous area in Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture, where paper was made in winter and paper cloth was made.
(bottom) “The bedspread of Kamikobu” Fuji, private collection, early Showa period / Photography: Ai Nakagawa.
In Kamikobu, deep in the mountains of Kashima-cho in Matsue, Shimane, the local custom of fuji-ori (weaving wisteria vines) has been passed on for generations.
Sumi dyed clothes of a beautiful silence,
made from linen.
Sumi from dark tone to light tone.
Clothes that extend into space.
Spiritual vessels for bright days.
We are pleased to present first collection “Days of light”.
Center for COSMIC WONDER will be available from February 6, Online Store from February 16.
In addition to the collection, we will also be introduced bark baskets, white vessels made by Shigeo Tanaka, light paper made by Takaharu Maeda of Kamisuki-Shikoushitsu, and stoneware of metalwork made by Mayumi Utsunomiya.
We are looking forward to seeing you.
LOOKBOOK
We are composed of light
So too this clothing is light crystal
It arches back, weightless,
To the birth of the universe
LOOKBOOK
We are pleased to present new arrival Reversible Gabardine coat of the 2020 Autumn and Winter collection “Spiritual Discourse” from Saturday, December 5.
A combination of water-repellent gabardine and satin. A beautiful unique coat that is in both its front and back.
Place:
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon − 6pm
*Closed day: December 21
Light leather gray colored horizontal hand bag
We are pleased to present new arrival Leather collection of the 2020 Autumn and Winter “Spiritual Discourse” from Saturday, December 12.
Beautiful horizontal bag, medium drawstring bag and small drawstring bag made from natural tanned leather and light eco-leather, Wallet with fastener, Bifold wallet, Circular coin case and Card case in combination of silver foil and gray light eco-leather with Flower of life embossing.
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon – 6pm
*Closed day: December 21
The beautiful and hidden laws of nature
Starting with the Pythagorean theorem, mathematics and physics have revealed structures like Plato’s cube, the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio
There are sacred geometric patterns that represent the source of life and the universe in all its forms
A seed is inscribed with the memory code of growth
A seed sprouts, blossoms, bears fruit, and becomes another seed in nature’s great cycle
We’ve only deciphered a fraction of the entire evolutionary record that is written in human DNA
Sacred geometry can be found even in the smallest divisions of cells
There are sacred patterns hidden in the knot
The Invisible Quantum World
I believed only in what I could see of the material world
With the development of science, we can integrate with the unseen world
The world is as beautiful now as it has ever been
The world is perceived and recognized throughout the human body, and the range of observation continues to expand
That is why I continue to seek beauty in all its forms and connect it to my work Yasuhide Ono
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We are pleased to present an exhibition of Yasuhide Ono’s “Sacred Geometry”. People have been expressing the hidden nature of numbers, shapes and sounds in the form of three-dimensional figures from ancient time. By manifesting the source of the world’s phenomena in geometric patterns, we have been able to harness the energy of the source of the universe. In this exhibition, Ono will present a series of jewelry based on sacred geometry as well as Cosmic Wonder’s Flower of life’s sashiko stitch weaving and embroidery works that evoke scenes from the natural world. Ono’s beautiful trinkets and works of art emanate from the universe, expanding our view into new vibrational realms.
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Exhibition period:
November 28 − December 6, 2020
*The artist will be present on November 28.
Place:
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon − 6pm
Smoker that burns wood to smoke tara vine of mountain
I wanted for this exhibition to cultivate a spirit of “enjoyment”. I created these tools with this spirit in mind. I’m interested in playing with fire, with water, with plants. Playing is fun but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. A meal can be a feast if you take the time to prepare the ingredients. A cup of tea can be delicious if you prepare it slowly. A flower arrangement can be made by collecting the flowers at your feet. If you take the time and make the effort, more will come of it.
Why not take some time just to enjoy the time? Here is a distiller that collects the scented drops from plants. A smoker that burns wood to smoke food and drinks. A single-handed pot for roasting wildflowers and grains. A kneading bowl for mixing plant flour and water. A fireproof pot that makes a rattling sound. A lampshade that uses oil from plants for its light. These objects are burned and baked using wood. As I finish the vessels I imagine the ecru walls of the Ryugyu in Miyama, Kyoto, or the pure and bright white of the Cosmic Wonder in Tokyo.
Takashi Ichikawa
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We are pleased to present an exhibition of Takashi Ichikawa’s Tools for “Enjoyment”. In recent years, Ichikawa’s tools, such as tea wheels and tea ceremony utensils, have become the mainstay of his work. These tools convey the essential joys of touching the elements of nature, the richness of playing with water, plants and fire.
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Exhibition period:
November 7 − November 15, 2020
*The artist will be present on November 7.
Place:
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon − 6pm
Beautiful Light gray colored Mohair silk knit
We are pleased to present Mohair silk knit, Tasmanian wool knit and Dress folk shoes of the 2020 Autumn and Winter collection “Spiritual Discourse” from Saturday, October 24 and at the Online Store from Monday, October 26.
This beautifully mohair silk knit combines warmth and lightly, finished with a seam-less for a comfortable fit. The Tasmanian Wool knit is a premium wool grown in an organic environment surrounded by primeval forests. It has excellent ventilation and heat-retaining properties. We have made two types of Dress fork shoes, one in Natural tanned leather with mimosa extract and the other in mirror-like Silver foil leather.
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon – 6pm
*Closed day: October 21
Sand-colored organic cotton wrapped dress repaired with bead
We are pleased to present repaired the clothes collection of Cosmic Wonder with Kaoru Yokoo “The Awakening Universe”. From the Cosmic Wonder 2020 Fall / Winter collection “Spiritual Discourse”, Yokoo will present the world of repairs with beautiful and harmonious humor.
Cosmic Wonder’s clothing which has dyed natural materials occasionally some things that can not be sold due to color spots and fabric cracks. Kaoru Yokoo will perform art handwork such as embroidery and knitting to breathe new breath to them.
Center for COSMIC WONDER and Center for COSMIC WONDER Online Store will be available from October 10.
*It will end as soon as it is sold out.
Kaoru Yokoo
1979 Born in Tokyo.
Started from 2005, Active mainly on rectification by handwork such as embroidery or the crochet.
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon – 6pm
*Closed day: October 21
Light moon-colored organic cotton shirt repaired with florets embroidery
Ancient colored earthen clothes dyed in mud by Flower of life’s Sashiko weaving
According to the dedication book of Nara’s Todaiji and Shosoin Temple, a brown pongee was presented to the temple from the ‘South Island’, referring to the Amami archipelago. This was in the Nara period, roughly thirteen hundred years ago. The Amami Oshima pongee represents a significant development in the ancient dyeing process. It is dyed with the juice of a ten to thirty year-old hawthorn tree (sharin-bai) native to the islands. The dyeing process is repeated over and again in a mud field with particularly high levels of iron that formed one and a half million years ago. The subtle colors derived from mud dyeing are sublime gifts from the heart of mother earth.
We are pleased to present “The Ancient Colors of the Earth – Earthen Clothes” . Cosmic Wonder’s mud-dyed clothes emanate from the richness of the soil and the ancient colors of the earth.
Period:
October 3 − October 18, 2020
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon – 6pm
*Closed day: October 2
Beautiful Flannel wool and satin dress
The autumnal equinox arrives, the everlasting world and the present world seem to become one. We are pleased to present Beautiful Flannel wool collection of “Spiritual Discourse” from September 26, Online Store from September 28.
The collection includes a beautiful flannel and linen combination of fine wool, Haori shirt jacket, Kimono shirt, Basic wrapped pants, Dress with large collar combined with satin, and Reversible cap. We will also be in stock; Reversible jacket and Ritual dresses in linen wool and satin in raised herringbone. A garment that resonates in a beautiful space, as a vessel of spirituality that shines in the light.
Center for COSMIC WONDER
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon – 6pm
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