http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/ en Copyright 2010 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:24:55 +0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.21-ja http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss I heard from one person who knows well about the dye industry that Hermes of France got the patent of the natural dye color at the end of last year. It was very shocking news for me. I have been thinking Hermes is higher in grade and much different from the other many world-wide famous fashion brands. I was so surprised of Hermes news. But it is a kind of strange news because the natural dyeing stuffs and the vegetate dyeing technology have been existing for hundreds or thousands years. Since the chemical dyeing technique was invented about 150 years ago and spread all over the world, as a result of it, the thousands years traditional knowledge disappeared from people's memories so easily. In the period of putting priority on promotion of streamlining present day, chemical dyestuffs were magic powder compared to natural dyestuffs that people could dye so fast and easily like an instant foods. But ecologically there are a lot of harmful agents for human being and nature like synthetic chemical dyestuffs made by oil and heavy metal ion mordant including chrome and cadmium and so on, and fluorescent dyestuff that may harmful influence to human body. I do not know the details of the Hermes patent but I think it is somehow related to print dyeing technology called as a productive screen printing. The technology has existed through the ages and it is common to stencil dyeing represented by the Edo Komon pattern in Japan. This print technology using same natural dyestuffs one similar seen in the dyeing technology of block printing in India and Indonesia. But almost all of them were taken place by chemical dyeing so the traditional natural block dyeing technology disappeared. Hermes patent might become revival of colorful print technology in the modern period. In my mind of the Hermes image is that Hermes takes over the tradition of old times European paintings. Hermes has its very originality but its basement has the sense of beauty of European paintings from the middle age to modern age. It is just like a traditional painting and such beauty of Oukyo's Maruyama group and Rinpa at Edo period affected Japanese fantastic Kimono world. For years I have been aspiring for the renaissance of the new dyeing textile arriving. I surely think the new wave will start from the new fashion world of Hermes natural dyestuffs. It could be said that the really new period arrives if Hermes uses the natural dyestuffs printing in their new fashion. And of course the other fashion makers also put their developing power will follow Hermes. And the movement will become one of the fashion trends after several years. So far natural dye colors only existed in the limited merchandise world. It means things will be changing. I imagine that people will wear the natural dye clothes as usual clothes after five or ten years from now. I feel that people's thinking of the dye color of the natural dyestuffs is only the past traditional technology will change their position. The natural dyestuffs are ecologically good for human body and environment. Actually almost all of the natural dyestuffs have been used as traditional medical materials. On the other hand, there is wrong general knowledge that the natural dyestuffs easily lose color. But it is wrong. In the 7th century Shosoin's treasury textiles are still bright beautiful even now. And in the 3rd century Egyptian Copt textiles are also still beautiful now. "The natural dyestuffs easily lose color" has been whispered to hide today's rapid dyeing textiles approach. But it is wrong. It just means that rush dyeing color equals to rush running down the color. The other day I got a mail of invitation about autumn symposium of the United States Textile Society Textile Society of America. The theme is the natural dye. The natural dye is coming as the real new wave. Additionally the visitors who are interested in natural dye are coming to IKTT's PWF from Europe and United States. Our basic information of natural dye is opened to everybody. IKTT has progressed at least 10 years ahead of world trend of the times. I also want to progress it further in the future. Morimoto, Kikuo http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/04/feel-the-new-wave.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/04/feel-the-new-wave.html textiles Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:24:55 +0700 The villagers who quit IKTT sometimes come back again.There are several rules for the person who can come back. One of the rules is that the retirement is not done without permission.Now I introduce the couple who spent only 3 days when they came back to IKTT. The couple was from Takeo province and the wife was one of the best skillful weavers in IKTT. The husband was 34 years old carpenter and also a good worker for plastering work. I liked both of them. While I went to Japan in May, some men living in PWF helped neighboring quarry operator, who lived next to PWF across a river and who has jointed business with Thai capital, to build the pig house of ten thousands scale. He worked as a master carpenter and managed the other carpenters. He received everyone's wages at first. He listened to his close elderly co-worker's instigation to snitch the wages. It might say that the devil idea made him such doing. But the elderly man was his drinking friend. In these several years, when someone cause problems at PWF, the problems were always caused by these deep drunken men. The couple made money and paid to the co-workers by selling his wife's few gold accessories and by borrowing her wages. The co-workers settled the matter to the local police officer because everyone would forgive him as their wages come back by thinking of he was same co-worker. The 32 years old wife is a really good worker. She works against the loom even on the holiday. She weaves twice faster than others and the created textiles are beautiful.She became necessary person for IKTT. But after his problem, he was treated as unpaid leave and even after he finished to return the other co-workers wages, he was looked down by the other people for a while. The couple lived in one of three terrace-style houses of PWF. He spent fishing at the nearby pond everyday. After a month, his wife told me if he can come back to work. I asked the opinion to some PWF leaders, but everyone seemed to neglect. When personal problems occurred in PWF, basically I relied on PWF members. I try to wait until they solve the problems by themselves.At the final stage of the discussion when they are about to make the decision, at this timing I go into their discussion. When the mat weaving villagers visited PWF to learn about natural dyeing the other day, the leader of them asked me whether there were the problems occurred sometimes in PWF, because they felt the PWF villagers seemed work well together without any problem. It seemed their village has continual such problems. We share the big goal in PWF that we create the best textile in the world. We get together to achieve the purpose. It is our basic idea. We have built the PWF village from nothing in field. We moved stumps and cultivated the waste field. Sometime people say to me that it was hard work to create the village from zero like this. Already an existing village has complex stakes of land and family relation. I understood we do not have to use extra power if we would start at the new field. We had to spend a lot of time to clear the complex stake problem more than to spend time to achieve the project. I had such experiences in the past when I joined some projects at several villages in Thailand and Cambodia over 20 years. When I started the hand-made textile project at north east Thai village 25 years ago, the village's women and primary school teachers were affirmative, but the village's men were skeptic against our project. Because several projects had been tried to start at their village in the past, but as a result they got nothing from the projects only they got wasted time. There was a big pond at the entrance of the village, so we decided to start the fish firming project with the village's young guys. When we bought young fishes and prepared for the project, some Japanese supporting person asked us that the fish firming was good but when the textile project start. After one half of the year passed, when the young fishes were growing, the relation between we and the village men became well and the men agreed to start the textile project that the women wanted to start. It should start from fish firming at first before starting textile. We had such experiences again and again. About a half of month has passed since she asked me about his reappointment, she come to me this time about her retirement. She said she could not stay if her husband could not work at PWF. And several days passed after then, I could not talk enough with her because of my busyness, her last day came. They left PWF getting on one of our stuff's car together that went back to Siem Reap. After I sent them off, I recalled the day of their first visit to the village inadvertently. They came to PWF with only the barest necessities without any money and to depend upon the same village weaver from Takeo province. It had passed almost 2 years since they came to here. I heard the story of their coming to here from the other person. And there was no doubt they did not have any place where they could stay at Takeo province and they had to live from hand to mouth. I asked to their co-worker who lived same house whether we should bring them back or not. Everyone knew about the situation and said unassumingly that we should do so. They were not actually ostracized but they betrayed a confidence, so I got an agreement with village leader Touru and several main other members by asking them to bring their apologized letter. In this way they got a chance to come back and stay with us again. We decided and contacted to the couple next day of their leaving. But it seemed that they sold the cell phone to someone so we could not contact soon. The woman from the same village informed it to their cousin at Takeo province, and the next day the couple called us. They asked us whether they really can come back. I said yes. And the next day the couple came back by motorcycle taxi. Somehow they had a new kettle and looked shyly but happily. Morimoto, Kikuo]]> http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/04/the-couple-came-back.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/04/the-couple-came-back.html project of [Wisdom from Forest] in Siem Reap Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:21:15 +0700 IKTT伝統の森 蚕まつり2008 The Silkworm Festival at Wisdom from Forest [DVD]

]]> http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/02/launching-dvd-silkworm-festiva.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/02/launching-dvd-silkworm-festiva.html media Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:43:50 +0700 When I expected to spend a quiet holidays because half of PWF villagers went back to their hometowns during Cambodian New Year holidays, I received a visit of my well-known friend at PWF. As a result of it, I have been involved in talking with my friend for whole 3 days. We had similar experience in talking for whole 3 days when Asian Kasuri road festival was held at Haebaru-cho of Okinawa prefecture in November 2000. Since then, we have met once a year and spent talking together. When I was a trainee of hand-made Yuzen dyeing at Kyoto, I liked to browse artistic books at the bookstore "Kyoto Shoin" at the center of Kyoto downtown. At that time, the extra binding book in the box was too expensive for me because my salary was only equal to pocket money. There was one Japanese magazine named "Senshoku to Seikatsu" which means dyeing and weaving with life, on the expensive dyeing and weaving books shelf. I still remember I found one article of the first issue of the Japanese magazine. It was by his article introducing the dyeing and weaving of Timor of Indonesia. It was in early 1970's. Still I keep this magazine at my PWF house book shelf. And there was curious coincidence, when I visited to one professor at National Museum of Ethnology at Senri Expo Park of Osaka prefecture, I happened to meet him. At that time, he was busy to prepare to go researching at Indonesia. At that time, I myself started the project related to villager's textiles work in Thailand in 1980's. In the middle of 1990's, I set up the small project of growing silkworms at Kampot village following the start of Cambodia UNESCO investigation, I have spent days and nights to revive the textile's technique of old days together with Takeo province elderly women weavers. At that time perhaps he was visiting for the textiles various fields of all over the world. His journey has been continuing even now to find out the textiles histories and skills of fascinating such mysterious textiles world. This time we talked about the tools of making mat that were found at Jomon period remains and those fibers and colors on the historical side, and the conversation expands geographically wide on the other side about Mediterranean Sea and South America, and Southeast Asia that could be said as the textile roots from Indonesia, and clothes of East Asian like China and Japan, additionally West Asia, Central Asia and Africa. Our talking went endless. I have opportunities to meet several world's researchers and collectors related to dyeing and weaving as my job. But I have never met such person like him who did researches and studies visiting the places of all over the world himself. In many cases the researches and studies are usually limited to particular places and textiles. In case of me, I am interested in the mysterious story of yellow raw silk of Cambodia as material relating to Cambodian textiles, additionally to try to find the mystery of derivation of the unique Cambodian textile, a silk ikat in a 2/1 twill. And I get really involved in the wonderful world imagination through such textiles. This time when I talked with him, looking at the very heavy but fine figured black color cloth dyed by persimmon ebony makleua (Diospyros mollis) that one elderly woman wore who I met during my research in 1995. While we were talking about her family and detail of wearing tools of this cloth, I felt sure her family came from Cambodian ethnic minority Kuay. That feeling was backed up by his past experiences. I had looked for the Kuay weavers around 1996. The Kuay people have been called Forest People in Cambodia since Angkor periods and they were also very famous as the elephant trainer. Such people have their own traditional textile world. The tradition has been barely inherited at northeast of Thailand. In Cambodia the Kuay people's villages has been almost disappeared under the local war, but their handloom and tools have characteristic feature. While I talked with him about Kuay village in Thailand, checking again the black crest figured cloth, I found Cambodian Kuay weaver's world in the textile. There is an unique big Niddy-Noddy to make skein. I saw the tool at this elderly woman's house. I had something on my chest the tool was the same as Thai Kuay people's tool. That was different from Khmer and Lao people's one. I checked it again by photo with him and we had no doubt about it. The woman died several years ago. Her family gave me the cloth she always wore as remembrance. Glowing silkworms and reeling raw silks, further the technique was unique that reeling high quality raw silks on her barefoot knees, it was such her remembrance. We had a sigh in front of such wonderful textile. The other day one of the Cambodian Royal Princess visited to PWF. We showed her several old textiles. This textile was included among other textiles. Princess took it and said she remembered it. She said her mother also wore the same touch black cloth. The old weaver who created such wonderful textiles is not alive now. I want to produce this textile at PWF. It is so difficult though I want to create some day. It is one of my highest hurdles. The talking on this textile might be the biggest achievement during 3 days New Year holidays this year. It is my assurance and it could be said a discover. Our conversation developed to changing of looms' figure and those varieties. He suggests the possibilities that the looms of the minority people of Yunnan province in China might be the origin of Cambodian loom. And our conversation continued to go down Mekong River, South China Sea and even Palembang of Sumatra. And continue to another famous Cambodian weavers Cham people. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/02/a-piece-of-black-cloth.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/02/a-piece-of-black-cloth.html textiles Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:40:05 +0700 The article "Morimoto Kikuo: Resurrecting a Cultural Ecology" introduced on the English magazine "Kyoto Journal No.73" that is published in Kyoto. Actually I was invited to make a speech session at the event "IMAGINE PEACE" held at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies two years ago. After the session I took part in the long interview by Kyoto Journal. They wrote the article by the interview, additionally reading my book "Bayon Moon". I would like to offer my appreciation. ▼Kyoto Journal http://www.kyotojournal.org/ In Japan you can purchase the Kyoto Journal at 1200 yen. In case of purchasing from oversea, it is U.S 12 dollars ( plus shipping fee 3 dollars). Please check the details at the Kyoto Journal web-site. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/02/introduced-on-kyoto-journal-no.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2010/02/introduced-on-kyoto-journal-no.html media Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:37:31 +0700 Cambodian raw silk is really beautiful yellow color. When the raw silk gets sunshine, it shines golden so that we could say as the Golden Silk. But regrettably the beautiful yellow color will fade after refining. The color fades to creamy color after refining that is of course also wonderful color. I have been specialized in dyeing and I think the dyeing color is wonderful but such natural color is the best. I like this natural. ]]> http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/07/the-golden-silk.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/07/the-golden-silk.html textiles Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:56:44 +0700 The 2008 fashion show might be recieved well, We recieved some questions of the schedule of this year's fashion show. This year's is going to be held 6 September (Sun) and the eve festival is 5 (Sat). http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/06/the-2009-silkworm-festival-and.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/06/the-2009-silkworm-festival-and.html event Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:32:43 +0700 About 20 people visited to IKTT from the villages of Siem Reap province and Banteay Meanchey province. Recently in Cambodia the activities of creating the special local products of each province or village are coming out introduced from the Trade Department of Cambodia like Japanese one local product from one village activity. The visitors are the leaders of such activities. The visitors are the group of observers including village heads and women. They all listened carefully to the lecture of natural dyestuffs. And their curiosity was for the textile's prices and of course the beautiful natural colors. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/the-real-textiles.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/the-real-textiles.html project of [Wisdom from Forest] in Siem Reap Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:53:20 +0700 I like cooking. But it might be a little misleading. Actually what I mean is that I like to eat delicious foods. It has passed about 10 years since I live in Siem Reap. At first the cooking ingredients were limited. When I was over 50 years old, I became to want having Miso soup again at almost everyday meal. But at that time I could not get Miso at Siem Reap. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/relax.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/relax.html from siemreap Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:38:24 +0700 The buffalos that were pastured around the Project site of "Wisdom from the Forest"(PWF) by their owner came into PWF field and ate all the leaves of mulberry trees and corns last year. The owner knew about it and pastured around the buffalos. The mulberry leaves were not planted for buffalos. Of course they were for cocoons. The futile cat-and-mouse chase against the buffalos was not to be ended. The buffalos came in dark night and the village men bounced out and sometimes caught them. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/about-buffalo-again.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/about-buffalo-again.html project of [Wisdom from Forest] in Siem Reap Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:42:22 +0700 The TV program "Le cri de la soie" ]]> http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/invitation-to-the-on-demand-pa.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/invitation-to-the-on-demand-pa.html media Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:47:43 +0700 In the morning, the people living in PWF come first to each workplace, and then women living in near villages come to PWF by bicycle. Recently, the numbers of mothers with their children are really increasing. Thus the morning work in PWF starts. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/starting-of-working-hours-at-i.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/starting-of-working-hours-at-i.html project of [Wisdom from Forest] in Siem Reap Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:09:53 +0700 The Cambodian New Year is coming. The New Year holidays are from 14th to 16th April. We finished this yearend payment of salary before New Year's Day is coming same as every year. I always try to pay them before New Year is coming as much as I can, although it is always a little delay in normal month. But this yearend payment became more difficult because of unusual decrease of sales, especially for the people coming from distant Takeo province and Kampot province. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/new-year.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/04/new-year.html project of [Wisdom from Forest] in Siem Reap Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:50:26 +0700 The natural silkworms existed in Cambodian forests 5000 years ago together with the mulberry trees. This silkworm's spinning raw silk was wonderful and it was brought out together with the mulberry trees from the forests, and sericulture history started at Yangtze River of China. http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/03/new-history-after-5000-years.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/03/new-history-after-5000-years.html growing of silkworms Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:28:40 +0700 Amazon.com ]]> http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/03/pictorial-cambodian-textiles-w.html http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/2009/03/pictorial-cambodian-textiles-w.html media Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:05:23 +0700