"Travelogue of Chinese Handicrafts"
Writer Profile
Shinobu Okumura
Other : Owner of Mingei OkumuraKeio University alumni
Shinobu Okumura
Other : Owner of Mingei OkumuraKeio University alumni
2020/04/29
Fascinated by the beauty of indigo dyeing, I traveled across Asia and eventually arrived in Guizhou Province, China. Guizhou has been called the poorest province, but the excellence of the handicrafts preserved by ethnic minorities is overwhelming compared to other regions. Take ethnic costumes, for example. They spin thread from cotton, weave it, dye it, and sometimes apply batik or embroidery to make everyday clothes for their families. In the past, women in each household were responsible for every step of the process. The traces of mending worn-out clothes look like art themselves. While Japanese 'boro' (tattered rags) continue to soar in price on the global market, similar items from Guizhou and Yunnan in China are also increasing in value worldwide. The affection of a mother projected onto a single piece of cloth moves those who see it.
I travel all over China in search of handmade tools for daily life, not just in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, which I have compiled into this book. At such times, I suddenly remember the days when I studied economic geography in Professor Akio Sugiura's seminar during my undergraduate years and walked around Tokyo for fieldwork. Although the perspective and approach are different, I have been walking around somewhere ever since then.
The first half of this book covers Yunnan Province. Yunnan is located in western China and is larger than Japan in area. The southern part, bordering Vietnam and Myanmar, is subtropical with a Southeast Asian climate and culture, but the northern areas where Tibetans live often exceed 3,000 meters, and life is completely different. Naturally, the tools for daily life are also different.
On the other hand, Guizhou Province, described in the second half, borders Yunnan Province but has a plateau-like climate overall. While the summer heat is relatively mild, it is a land with little sunshine, as the saying goes, "no three days of clear weather." Unique traditional cultures still remain in the lives of ethnic minorities who prefer to live in the mountains. The hot pot made from the digestive juices of goat and cow stomachs eaten by the Dong people, which I experienced in the southeastern part, is considered a "strange food" even within the deep and broad food culture of China.
Although it is a travelogue, there is so little information available for those wishing to travel to this area, so I have included helpful information. I want many people to know about these lands where uniqueness can be felt from every angle—language, festivals, food, and crafts.
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.