EVENT
COSMIC WONDER “White Light dream” Show
Light dream begins with White.
Depicting your colors floating in the universe
We are pleased to present 2022 collection of “Light dream” as white garments.
You can choose from a variety of white garments and dye them in beautiful colors that reflect the elegance of nature through handcrafting, such as plant dyeing, indigo dyeing, and mud dyeing.
This show will travel to STARDUST, st company, eighty 88 eight, OUTBOUND, Utsushiki, and Center for COSMIC WONDER.
We are looking forward to seeing you.
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April 16 − April 24
at STARDUST, Kyoto
April 29 − May 8
at st company kiryu, Gunma
May 14 − May 22
at eighty eight, Ehime
May 28 − June 6
at OUTBOUND, Tokyo
June 11 − June 19
at Utusiki, Fukuoka
June 25 − July 3
at Center for COSMIC WONDER
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COSMIC WONDER
Japanese wool and Cashmere garments
These Japanese wool garments are hand-spun and hand-knitted. Rare Japanese wool is shorn at a farm and washed by hand to remove dirt and oil. Hand-washing does not remove too much oil from the wool, keeping it warm. Each garment is made from the wool of one sheep, thus retaining that sheep’s unique texture. The garments are made by Kana Ushijima, who creates beautiful hand-spun wool yarns, and Tomoko Kodama, who hand-knits the unique yarns with precision. Cashmere has excellent heat retention properties. Cashmere garments are also very light and give everlasting comfort. The cashmere from Inner Mongolia, considered to be of the highest quality, is spun in Japan and knitted with a seamless ‘whole garment’ design.
We are pleased to present an exhibition of “Japanese wool and Cashmere garments”. These precious garments are a collaboration of nature and people and will grace us with everlasting love.
Photo top: Wool from Miwa Farm, Kyoto
Photo bottom: Wool from Hitsuji-mikan Farm, Mie Prefecture
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STARDUST
Exhibition period:
October 23 − October 31, 2021
Open 11am − 6pm
41 Shimodakedono-cho, Shichiku Kita-ku, Kyoto
T. +81 (0)75 286 7296
Center for COSMIC WONDER
Exhibition period:
November 6 − November 21, 2021
Open noon – 6pm
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
Takashi Ichikawa
Rethinking of the plants
We are pleased to present Takashi Ichikawa’s exhibition, “Rethinking of the Plants”, at the Center for COSMIC WONDER. For this exhibition, he will share his unique perspective on tea, wild grasses and medicinal herbs, and how they can bring our lives into harmony with nature. Interacting with water, plants, and fire is an essential joy that reconnects us with the elements of nature. This exhibition envisions a lifestyle flush with wildflowers, as well as distillers, roasters, and utensils for boiling tea. A workshop and a tea ceremony will be held with two members of yasousora who have been integrating wildflowers into their daily lives and exploring their mysterious powers. Learning about and touching wildflowers liberates the body and mind and brings a sublime enrichment to our days.
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Now is the time to rethink the things in our own immediate surroundings.
It was five years ago that I came across a tea tree so large that I had to look up. The difference between the image of a tea tree and the image of a tea plant became an attraction, and a switch was flipped for me to rethink my idea of the plant. The experience of looking around and picking things up that interest me, such as tea and cooking, moves me to appreciate the wisdom of our ancestors and gives me a sense of gratitude for nature. And then I think. Tools and technology have disappeared with the changing times, and some of our senses have dulled as our lives have become too convenient. Now that the world is changing, there is a way to fortify our immune systems with the help of nature and plants. Plants work hard to protect their seeds. The power of plants is amazing. I would like to increase my sensitivity to plants by learning about their power from experts. Flowers, leaves, stems and roots. Beans, powder, and leaves. Let’s enjoy the power of plants. Attractive things are close at hand. If we turn on the switch, we can see them.
I want to make a tool that will turn on the desire to rethink our relationship to plants.
Takashi Ichikawa
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Exhibition period:
June 26 – July 4, 2021
The artist will be present on June 26 and 27.
Location:
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
Open noon – 6pm
Opening Event:
1. Workshop sora’s wild grass tea Demonstration of how to make wild grass tea.
The possibilities are endless for making tea from the wildflowers that grow all around us.
You can enjoy some wild grass tea with Ichikawa’s tea utensils.
Saturday, June 26
noon − 2pm
3pm − 5pm
Fee: 8,800 JPY (with wild grass tea)
Reservation required / Number of seats: 4
*All the seats are booked.
2. Tea Ceremony “sora”
“Medicine” of the fields.
Medicinal herbs from Mount Ibuki, Wild grass tea collected and blended in sora’s field.
You can enjoy some wild grass tea with Ichikawa’s tea utensils.
Sunday, June 27
noon − 1pm
2pm − 3pm
4pm − 5pm
Fee: 6,600 JPY (with wild grass tea)
Reservation required / Number of seats: 5
*All the seats are booked.
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yasousora / Gendou Sawamura Hina Sawamura
Wild grasses connect us to ancient times, and to the universe itself.
It is our hope to educate others about the benefits of the wildflowers and wild grasses that surround us.
We are based in Fukuoka Prefecture.
COSMIC WONDER
Usuhanasome
We are pleased to present a series of Usuhanasome garments that are made where heaven and earth meet.
COSMIC WONDER “Days of light” garments in hemp, silk, and organic cotton are dyed with light mud and light indigo. The mud dyeing is done by Kanai Kogei in Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, and the indigo dyeing is done by Konya Jin in Mie Prefecture. The colors produced by this wonderful technique first appeared in ancient times and appear again today.
Light-mud dyeing is done with mud and dyestuffs boiled from the Fukugi tree, a tall evergreen tree native to Amami and points south. By contrast, the typical mud dyeing process uses dye from the wheel plum tree. The light mud is found in the iron-rich mud fields in the ancient strata of Amami Oshima Island that date back 1.5 million years. The dyeing process is done in cycles: Fukugi tree dyeing, mud dyeing in the mud field, rinsing in the river upstream, again Fukugi dyeing, again mud dyeing in the mud field, and water bleaching… Depending on the condition of the cloth to be dyed, the process is adjusted or the number of cycles is changed. Mud dyeing requires the blessings of Amami Oshima’s natural habitat. These sensitive techniques have been cultivated over many generations.
Light-indigo dyeing is done in a vessel with a diluted indigo dye and repeated over and again. The process is more delicate than ordinary indigo dyeing as it requires much bleaching and dyeing. The work of Konya Jin, a light-indigo dyer in Mie Prefecture, starts with making sukumo, the indigo dye. After growing the indigo naturally, making the sukumo and making preparations throughout the year, the indigo dye is finally ready. Konya Jin uses the Shou-ai dyeing technique.
Please take a look at the beautiful and subtly colored Usuhanasome garments that reflect both the blessings of nature and the work of human hands.
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Center for COSMIC WONDER
Exhibition period:
June 5 − June 20, 2021
Open 12pm – 6pm
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
COSMIC WONDER
Sumi and Yambaru-ai
The mysterious earthen colors are created with the soot of burned pine trees mixed with water.
The colors produced by kala-ai* indigo-dyeing reflect the indigo of the Ryukyu mountains, where the sea converges with the twilight sky.
In days of old, every household in Ryukyu would dye their everyday clothes and fabrics with kala-ai and to-ai* dyes right on on the earthen floor.
They would first dye the cloth with sumi or safflower and then layer it with indigo.
We will present a garment made of sumi and Yambaru-ai*, which resonates with a shining spiritual presence. COSMIC WONDER “Days of light” garments made of hemp, silk, and organically-grown cotton are dyed many times over with pine smoke and Yanbaru indigo (Ryukyu indigo). They are made by Mr. Keiichi Yoshikawa, who has been dyeing indigo for more than forty years in Kameoka, Kyoto, alongside the crystal clear Hozu River. Please touch the garment saturated with beautiful sumi and Yambaru indigo, a color that has mesmerized people since ancient times.
*Types of Ryukyu Indigo
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Center for COSMIC WONDER
Exhibition period:
April 3 − April 11, 2021
Open 12pm – 6pm
Temporary Closed: April 2
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
STARDUST
Exhibition period:
April 17 − April 25, 2021
Open 11am − 6pm
41 Shimodakedono-cho, Shichiku Kita-ku, Kyoto
T. +81 (0075 286 7296
COSMIC WONDER with Kogei Punks Sha
NONO a native spirit of Kami and Cloth
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.
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.
Yasuhide Ono
Sacred Geometry
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:
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon − 6pm
Takashi Ichikawa
Tools for “Enjoyment”
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:
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon − 6pm
Takayuki Watanabe
Environment
This is that
Same but different
That is that
Flying around
That is this
Floating softly
Around and round
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We are pleased to present an exhibition of Takayuki Watanabe’s “Environment”. Watanabe’s work is composed of shaped objects excavated from approximately one hundred locations in the Izu Peninsula. The forms that appear come from an act of staring into the essence of the overlapping rings of soil.
COSMIC WONDER Free Press
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Exhibition period:
August 22 − August 30, 2020
*The artist will be present on August 22.
Place:
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
noon – 6pm
Indigo is the Color of the Universe
The North Atelier’s indigo dye vat
Our ancestors sought to borrow the color blue from the world of plants.
They wrapped themselves in blue as the Earth itself is wrapped in blue.
Indigo is the fabric of the universe.
Indigo dyeing has a long history. In Egypt, indigo-dyed linens were produced as early as 2000 BC. The process is believed to have been brought to Japan by an envoy to China in the time the Tang Dynasty. Japanese indigo plants include the Tade indigo (Polygonaceae), Ryukyu indigo (Acanthaceous), and the Ai-kazura (Coleoptera). Elsewhere there is the Indian indigo (Fabaceae), the wisteria indigo (Fabaceae) in West Africa, and the ward (Brassicaceae) in Europe. Indigo protects cloth, paper and skin. Its bulbs and leaves can be used as medicine. The cultivation and practice of indigo dyeing connects us to the mysteries of nature and to the wisdom and work of all the generations that have come before us. From the sacred indigo leaf the very colors of the heavens come pouring out.
We are pleased to present the exhibition “Indigo is the Color of the Universe” at the Center for COSMIC WONDER and gallery Hakuden. We will announce indigo dyeing events with Shindo Makito (North Atelier / The Little Indigo Museum), Takayuki Ishii (Awono-you), Hitoshi Kitamura / Miyuki Onishi (Konya Jin), and Keiichi Yoshikawa (Kyoto Hozu Indigo Atelier). We will also present indigo-dyed works by Yukinori Maeda and Sumiko Ishii of Kogei Punks Sha.
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Makito Shindo (North Atelier / THE LITTLE INDIGO MUSEUM)
Since 2015, he has occupied the North Atelier of founding indigo dye artist Hiroyuki Shindo, where he works with liquid-ash fermentation, a method developed in ancient times. He aspires to make pieces that distill the beauty and mysterious charm of indigo for people to enjoy today. Hiroyuki Shindo established the Matsugasaki Atelier in Kyoto in April 1972. He founded the North Atelier, in Miyama, in April 1981, where he later opened the Little Indigo Museum in April 2005.
Takayuki Ishii (Awono-you)
Indigo-dyeing began with an interest in sustainable design. Learned dying from Noriyuki Murata, liquid-ash fermentation from Fumiko Sato, Nagaita-chougata (stencil dyeing) from Matsubara Yoshichi, Ise-style carving (dyed-pattern paper) from Akio Takai, and crafts from Brian Whitehead. He built an atelier with his wife in the mountainous area of Kanagawa prefecture. Indigo cultivation, making *sukumo, liquid-ash fermentation and dyeing techniques such as stencil dyeing, squeezing, drawing, and wax dyeing. No chemicals are used throughout the process of indigo cultivation and dyeing.
Hitoshi Kitamura and Miyuki Onishi (Konya Jin)
Soil composition, cultivation of indigo grass, making *sukumo, and indigo dyeing. It is a wonder how the indigo color is born out of the flow of time and natural processes. It is the joy of witnessing this wondrous transformation that is at the root of our activities. *Sukumo made in Tokushima prefecture. Liquid-ash fermentation and traditional Japanese indigo dyeing learned in Tochigi prefecture.
Keiichi Yoshikawa (Kyoto Hozu Indigo Atelier)
He has been involved in indigo dyeing for more than 30 years. He revived the phantom Kyoto indigo and then moved to Kameoka city. He rented a tenement house on the banks of the Hozu River to establish the “Hozu Indigo Research Institute” and restore Kyoto Indigo. Indigo cultivation, making *sukumo, liquid-ash fermentation and dyeing. He also dyes Ryukyu indigo by powdered indigo (Doroai).
*Sukumo indigo is a slowly fermented dye.
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Center for COSMIC WONDER
Exhibition period:
July 4 − July 12, 2020
Open 12pm – 6pm
Temporary Closed: July 3
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
Exhibition period:
July 18 − July 26, 2020
Open 11am − 6pm
7 Moriyamada, Kyotamba-cho, Funaigun, Kyoto
T. +81 (0)771 82 1782
Ryukyu indigo dyed blook printing khadi by Kyoto Hozu Indigo Atelier
Japanese handcrafted Baskets
Part Ⅴ
“Saigou Winnow” Composed of Kinchiku, Mountain cherry tree, Japanese wisteria vine, Sinomenium actum vine etc., 1070×1100, Kagoshima Prefecture
Japanese handicrafts made with natural raw materials are an embodiment of appreciation, awe and respect for nature. They reflect the traditional Japanese satoyama lifestyle that people and nature coexist sustainably. (In a satoyama, people typically forms a community (=sato) with farmlands, on the border of a forest (=yama). A forest is a resource for their living, being managed sustainably by sato residents.) In such satoyama living, the art of livingware handcrafting has been passed along from generation to generation, producing practical and useful objects. They provide insights into a lifestyle in harmony with nature.
COSMIC WONDER Free Press
For this exhibition, Naoyoshi Maeda (Cosmic Wonder, Light & Will) sourced handcrafted baskets by visiting local craftspeople in various places from Akita to Okinawa.
Each of their work is unique and representative of the regions where they are crafted. Their rustic beauty attracts us.
Center for COSMIC WONDER Online Store also will be sold handcrafted baskets exhibited at the exhibition.
We has been cancelled Mr Shinichi Nakagawara’s demonstration of traditional Akebi vine basketwork at the opening of the exhibition.
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Exhibition period:
June 20 − July 2, 2020
Place:
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
*Temporary Closed: June 18 − 19
“Bara” Composed of Kinchiku, Mountain cherry tree, Sinomenium actum vine etc., ⌀ 1000, Kagoshima Prefecture
From Beautiful Khadi Village
COSMIC WONDER
TENJIKU DIALY
We are pleased to present exhibition “TENJIKU DIARY” at the Center for COSMIC WONDER. Yukinori Maeda traveled to Kolkata, India, the days in the village of Khadi became the Spring Summer collection “TENJIKU LIGHT”. It is a collection that imagines a beautiful living space. The essence of this collection, Khadi is hand-spun and hand-woven cotton fabric that was once woven in most rural area of India. In recent years, there is movement to connect this beautiful cloth to future generations as a special craft of India. Khadi is very comfortable to wear and airy for the hot summer. And Khadi is printed on traditional woodblock printing.
COSMIC WONDER Free Press
Center for COSMIC WONDER will be available from June 20, Online Store from June 30. At the same time, this exhibition will be held from June 20th at STARDUST in Kyoto. We will sell Khadi’s Bath towel, Hand towel and Eco friendly bag as a limited items.
We will be pleased to present exhibition “Japanese handcrafted Baskets Part Ⅴ” too.
Beautiful clothes and crafts will become the brilliance of life, and create a space of light.
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
41 Shimodakedono-cho, Shichiku Kita-ku, Kyoto
T. +81 (0)75 286 7296
[ Stockist of Khadi items ]
JAPAN / Tokyo, Kanto
NANOHANA KURASHINODOUGUTEN (Odawara)
N ID (Shibuya)
LAMP HARAJUKU (Harajuku)
OUTBOUND (Kichijoji / Yoyogiuehara)
ST COMPANY (Kiryu / Takasaki)
URBAN RESEARCH DOORS (Shinmisato / Toyosu)
JAPAN / Chubu, Hokuriku
CABINET ATELIER (Nagoya)
FABER LABORATORIO (Matsumoto)
MM BOOKS MINO (Mino)
RAFIE (Niigata)
SOLA (Shizuoka)
JAPAN / Kinki
ANGERS (Kyoto)
ARCHIPELAGO (Sasayama)
HEMMING SHOP (Osaka)
STARDUST (Kyoto)
URBAN RESEARCH DOORS (Osaka)
JAPAN / Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu
CITE’ (Hiroshima)
HIMOROGI (Kitakyushu)
M-2 (Kochi)
UTUSIKI (Fukuoka)
88 (Marugame / Niihama)
ASIA
SUZUKI SHOP (Beijin)
WASHIDA (Taiwan)
NORTH AMERICA
OROBORO (New York)
MAMEG (Los Angeles)
“Khadi is not a cloth. It is thought” Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi