Yoshiko Jinzenji: 76-Year-Old Japanese Quilt Artist
The 76-year-old Japanese quilt artist Yoshiko Jinzenji bought a 4,300-square-feet plot of land up Mount Hiei in Kyoto 8 years ago to build a house for herself. “The whole house is an integrated kitchen with a small bathroom. I want to share my food and life with my friends here. This kitchen is my last gift to myself.”
I copied just a few quotes from the article - below the images - please link through for more. All the photos are delicious and her story is inspiring.
Yoshiko Jinzenji: 76-Year-Old Japanese Quilt Artist Built Her Own 4,300-Square-Feet Kitchen House
The 76-year-old Japanese quilt artist Yoshiko Jinzenji bought a 4,300-square-feet plot of land up Mount Hiei in Kyoto 8 years ago to build a house for herself. “The whole house is an integrated kitchen with a small bathroom. I want to share my food and life with my friends here. This kitchen is my last gift to myself.”
Jinzenji is busy all her life. She was one of the first Japanese women to study abroad in the US in the 1960s. In the ’80s, she moved to Bali to do natural dyeing and invented bamboo dyeing.
“Bamboo dyes the fabric soft and glistening in the sun.” Even the cloth used by Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo, Japan’s prominent “Big 3” designers, was first handed over to Jinzenji for bamboo dyeing.
Narrator: Yoshiko Jinzenji
The most important thing in life is to work hard but follow your heart. Don’t bring negative energy to yourself, so that you can live however you want.
I have countless pieces of utensils, made of clay, porcelain, bamboo, rattan, etc., and embodying the stories of different people I’ve met.
I’m an artist, so I got invited to many young creators’ and friends’ exhibitions. As I was there, I felt like I must buy something. And I think the greatest recognition of a creator is to buy his/her creations.
It was in Bali that I invented bamboo dyeing, that is, to dye fabric white with bamboo.
Since then, I was looking for natural materials that can dye fabric white, but never thought of the small bamboo forest next to my studio, because I’d learned from professional books that bamboo couldn’t dye. This is human: We don’t doubt what we believe we know.
I returned to Kyoto in 2013. I’ve been busy here with cooking and photography. At this age, I still want to explore more. I’ll hold quilt and photo exhibitions in 2020, if I’m healthy until then. I have an above-average level of curiosity in my DNA. I would rather die than do nothing.