Living Colours, Japan House

Japan is famous for its seasonal colours, for the delicate pink cherry blossoms that line the streets in spring and the fiery reds of the maple trees in autumn. This exhibition at Japan House in Kensington celebrates the country’s love of vibrant natural shades with swathes of silks dyed by the Yoshioka Workshop in Kyoto.

During the Heian period (794 – 1185), described as a time of great peace and romance, Japanese kimonos were fashioned from up to 12 layers of fabric, each a different hue inspired by the season. These colour combinations are on display here as sweeping strips of silks designed to produce a ‘forest of colour.’ But the practice was not limited to fabric. Love poems printed on paper were also dyed in sympathy with the season and were tied to the sprigs of plants, such as blossom or willow.

The Yoshioka Workshop is part of 200-year-old family enterprise. 5th generation master dyer Yoshioka Sachio inherited the business in 1988 and decided – in keeping with the traditions of old – to use only plant-based pigments for his silks. Here you will be able to see samples of the organic dyes used by the workshop alongside the story of the Japanese colour tradition, harking back to that idyllic Heian period.