DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN

Nishimonai, Akita Prefecture

What does design mean to you?

It's in your daily life.

It takes shape and takes hold, whether we're aware of it or not.

You could call it evidence of life.

Koike visits Akita just before the Nishimonai Bon Odori Festival.

It is said that this August event has been held for over 700 years.

Costumes are aired out, creating an informal fashion show.

Hanui type
A remix of old kimono fabric

Aizome type
Indigo garments, a local tradition

A special costume has been passed down for 100 years.

There's plain fabric at the sides, like a picture frame.

We actually call it a "frame."

We use the same cloth at the edges.

Within, we assemble cloth like a jigsaw puzzle.

Oh, how lovely. Yes, it comes together like a picture.

The traces of sweat from beloved old kimono are enough to make me weep.

How many years ago were people dancing in this?

And how did they dance?

So it's vital to look after it.

It makes me think of beauty, that encapsulates time.

That's all conveyed by the fabric.

It's wonderful that it can be worn again.

Koike visits the home of a dancer, Fujita Teiko.

These garments must have been traded from elsewhere.

They probably arrived via "kitamaebune."

Merchants and landowners treasured luxury clothing like this.

They were symbols of prosperity.

There's a nice combination of plain and flashy elements.

People stitched "Hanui" at home using their own color schemes.

We turn old family garments into new kimono.

Then we dance in that costume.

The festival is about remembering lost loved ones.

So it's like you're dancing with your ancestors.

They're right there with you, in spirit. How beautiful.

It reminds me to take good care of our daily lives.

To reuse things, rather than dispose of them.

When we consider these things, I feel almost too spiritually aligned!

What I've seen here has real depth. And I find it to be very profound.