The Japan Society Review 96
Book, Stage, Film, Arts and Events Review

Issue 96 Volume 16 Number 6 (December 2021)

The last issue of The Japan Society Review in 2021
presents six reviews of books which focus on different
aspects of Japan, from its history to anthropology andtextile design. The first review covers Toward Creationof a New World History, the English translation of an
academic monograph originally written in Japanese byProfessor Haneda Masashi. This publication reflects on thediscipline of World History from a Japanese perspective
considering issues of methodology, transnationality, andWestern centrism.
From the field of anthropology, this issue includes areview of An Affair with a Village by Professor Joy Hendry.
As our reviewer Alice French points out, this book is “aheart-warming, funny, informative and highly personal
love letter to Kurotsuchi, the small village in Fukuoka
Prefecture, Kyushu that Hendry first visited in 1975 toundertake a year of fieldwork during her time as a PhD
student at Oxford University”.

Japanese literature is represented in this issue by
the reviews of two books, Japan Stories by Jayne Joso
and Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love by Murakami Haruki.
Joso’s volume is a collection of short fiction, some ofthem illustrated, revolving around characters’ feelingsand emotions, and combining realism with supernatural
tones. Murakami’s book is the author’s personal homage
to his favourite t-shirts including a selection of images of
his collection with short essays that have been translated
into English for the first time.
The December issue ends with reviews of a chef’s
monograph, telling of the inspiration, traditions, andrecipes behind the restaurant monk on the Philosopher’s
Path in Kyoto, and a volume exploring the craft work of
NUNO, one of Japan’s most innovative and respected
textile design studios.
Alejandra Armendáriz-Hernández

Contents
1)

Toward Creation of a New World History by Haneda
Masashi2)

An Affair with a Village by Joy Hendry

3)

Japan Stories by Jayne Joso

4)

Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love by Murakami Haruki

5)monk: Light and Shadow on the Philosopher’s Path by
Imai Yoshihiro

6)

NUNO: Visionary Japanese Textiles by Sudo Reiko

EditorAlejandra Armendáriz-Hernández
Reviewers
Francesco Cioffo, Eleonora Faina, Alice French, Laurence Green,
Riyoko Shibe and David Tonge.
Image: textile detail from NUNO: Visionary Japanese Textiles.

Toward Creation of a New
World History
by Haneda Masashi
translated by Noda Makito
Japan Publishing Industry
Foundation for Culture (JPIC) (2018)
ISBN-13: 978-4866580234
Review by Francesco Cioffo
To paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli, World History is a
career. As we witness the rise in many departments
around the world of MA and PhD programs, specialised
conferences, funded chairs, and research institutions
on transnational and global topics, it is safe to say that
World History has become one of the most popular
fields of research. Nevertheless, the dominance ofnational history in academic departments is still far
from being challenged. It took about a decade forWorld History to reach such heights. When Professor
Haneda Masashi first wrote Seikaishi he (the original
Japanese title of the book) in 2011, he probably did
not expect that the subject would have become soubiquitous so rapidly. In the past decade Haneda has
been at forefront of the institutionalisation of WorldHistory as one of the main subjects in the Global
History Collaborative, one of the many emerging
international research consortia, which includes
Harvard, the University of Tokyo, Humboldt, and Free
universities in Berlin and the EHEES in Paris.[1] In termsof scholarship as well, the so-called transnational turnhas sparked a wave of major works about world, global
and transnational history.[2] Overall, it seems that allkinds of historical fields and methodological school
are coming to terms with the non-national dimensionof their research.[3]In this short book, which I would look at almost
as a manifesto for Japanese World History, Professor
Haneda argues that today’s World History as taught inJapan is simply not realistic anymore. He exposes three
World History main issues in Japan, although arguably
these problems are shared to many other countries
too. First, World History as taught in Japan is one for
the Japanese people, that is, it reflects the country’s
own bias (p.63). Secondly, Japanese World History puts
too much emphasis upon the differences between
people, countries, and civilisations (p.75). Thus,
encouraging the alienation of the non-Japanese other.
Lastly, World History in Japan is too Euro-centric (p.81).
The final issue, he points out, is shared with the rest of
the world, since it is something imbedded within thevery fabric of the modern historical profession. How2does he propose to surpass these issues? He proposesthat an ideal World History as such: 1) it does not stressdifferences and it does not encourage othering; 2) it
is not centred upon any specific region or country; 3)
it fosters a sense of belonging as citizens of the earth[what he termed “earth-centrism”, p. 95]; 4) it makes
people realise that interconnectedness among people
is the true state of nature of humanity.
The main part of the text draws upon a meticulous
analysis of primary and secondary sources. Haneda
looks at the World History textbooks used in Japaneseclasses, such as the Shosetsu sekaishi B (Detailed
account of World History B), as well as other major
publications on the topic and the history curriculum
guidelines devised by the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
The book is divided into three main thematic
sections discussing, first, the World History of today,
second, the structural issues of World History as
discipline, and, lastly, the new World History proposed
by Haneda. In Chapter 1, he traces the development ofcontemporary World History from the 1940s onwards.
Chapter 2 identifies the main problematics and it
shows why the current type of World History is notenough. Chapter 3 introduces the two main responses
to the issues discusses in the previous chapter, whichhave attempted to 1) depart from Eurocentrism and2) to highlight commonalities and correlations. In the
final chapter Haneda proposes his views on the new
World History.
The only concern that I have about this otherwise
clever book might be better expressed using the very
words of the author: “when the future direction of theworld is considered in earnest, it becomes obvious thata world history of the global community is an enterprisethat must be accomplished at any cost” (p. 188). The
risk of such propositions is to turn Haneda’s new WorldHistory into a teleology of the global community.
Exchanging the idea of a global sense of community
for either progress or the nation as the final goal of thelong march of history. Methodologically, once again weare reproposed with the same issue of presupposing
the existence of an historical phenomenon rather thancritically question it.
Having said that, Professor Haneda’s book is a very
important addition to de-westernise World History as a
subject, which so far is still too heavily western-centric
despite all its good intentions. Haneda also adds a
critical environmental element to his vision of WorldHistory. I am not sure whether there will ever be a day
in which the people of the world will ever be able toIssue 96 Volume 16 Number 6 (December 2021)

develop a common identity as “chikyu no jumin” (p.10),
or citizen of the earth, but reading Haneda’s thoughtprovoking arguments I would really hope so. His visionof World History might not be perfect, but it surely is agood way to start discussing these difficult topics.

University Press, and Hunt, Lynn (2015), Writing History
in the Global Era, W. W. Norton & Company.
[3] Ghobrial, John-Paul A (2019), ‘Introduction: Seeing
the World like a Microhistorian’, Past & Present, vol. 242,
issue supplement 14, November 2019, pp. 1–22. §Notes[1] For another major conglomerate of research
institutions see Global History Online, https://en.globalhistoryonline.org.
[2] Haneda recommends the works of Conrad,
Sebastian (2017), What is Global History?, Princeton

An Affair with a Village
by Joy Hendry
Extremis Publishing (2021)
ISBN-13: 978-1999696269
Review by Alice FrenchWith more than four decades of research and at least
eight books dedicated to Japan and its culture alreadyunder her belt, one would have been forgiven forthinking that legendary anthropologist Joy Hendry
had run out of things to write on the subject. However,
her latest offering, An Affair with a Village, proves suchassumptions to be far from the truth.
This book is a heart-warming, funny, informativeand highly personal love letter to Kurotsuchi, the small
village in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu that Hendry first
visited in 1975 to undertake a year of fieldwork during
her time as a PhD student at Oxford University. In An
Affair with a Village, Hendry documents her 45-yearlong relationship with Kurotsuchi as if it were herlover: from the initial nerves and awkwardness to theheady honeymoon period, to the painful goodbyes
and subsequently joyful reunions. Her personal
experiences are interspersed with cultural, social,
and religious background, giving a unique insight
into Japanese marriage, funeral and birth rituals,
along with some of the lesser-known and fascinating
traditions of rural Japan, including the lengthy rituals
attached to housebuilding and rice-harvesting. The
wonderful colour photographs that accompany
Hendry’s anecdotes are a charming bonus; by the endof the book, the reader will feel as though they know
Kurotsuchi almost as intimately as Hendry does.
One of the main draws of this book is theunadulterated honesty with which it is written.
Although Hendry’s affection for Kurotsuchi is clear -Latest reviews: www.japansociety.org.uk/resources/reviews/

she has returned to the village multiple times sincecompleting her fieldwork, taking her own children
with her, and has also hosted several friends fromthe village during their visits to the UK over the years-- she does not hold back when recounting her lessenjoyable experiences there. Having to deal with initialresistance from some households when gathering
data for a family tree chart project, being deliberately
excluded from some of the villagers’ events, evenexperiencing a rather terrifying breaking-and-entering
incident – Hendry’s time in Kurotsuchi was far fromuneventful.
However, as is the case in any romantic
relationship, the lows came with a multitude of highs:
laughter, gifts, and lifelong friendships, just to namea few. Hendry’s close, enduring relationship with the
Kumagai family, her neighbours during the initial yearof fieldwork, is a particular highlight. The ebbs andflows of Hendry’s affair with Kurotsuchi are what makes
the work so engaging, and her willingness to admit
when things did not go to plan makes it a brilliant readfor budding anthropologists in any country.
For any Japanologists who have read Hendry’s
other, iconic, works, such as Marriage in Changing
Japan (1981) and Wrapping Culture (1993), An Affair
with a Village will be a fascinating behind-the-scenes
look at the extensive work that went into her research.
As Hendry explains in Chapters 7 and 8, much of her
understanding of Japanese family traditions anddomestic life was developed during sleepovers at thehouses of numerous Kurotsuchi residents, and her
famous insights into Japanese gift-giving culture weregreatly inspired by the gifts that she gave and received
during her time in the village. A re-reading of Hendry’s
other books after finishing An Affair with a Village
will no doubt make any student of Japanese society
appreciate her findings in a new light.
3

Above all, however, An Affair with a Village is arare and detailed look at a Japanese village that few
will likely have the opportunity to visit. Located in the
remote countryside of southern Kyushu, the Kurotsuchithat Hendry fell in love with represents what little
remains of traditional, family-oriented rural Japan in

the modern age. Hendry’s colourful descriptions andhumorous personal accounts paint a vivid pictureof what is clearly a beautiful part of the world and, if
nothing else, the book provides some well-needed
escapism at a time when many of us are craving agetaway.§

Japan Stories

allowing herself to be “mischievous” in telling darker
and more complex stories, distancing herself from her
past naturalistic work. Freer to stretch her imaginarylegs and to take more room for exploration she
proceeds to tell us tales of solitude within the modern
Japanese society by engaging with new sharperformats and Carterian gothic surrealist elements. The
emphasis is put on the characters’ internal world rather
than their external realities, blurring the line between
reality and fantasy and how much the tales we tellourselves influence and shape the world surroundingus.
Love and the ideas surrounding love arerecurring themes throughout the second-half ofthe book, yet still accompanied by a high degree ofloneliness. Shoei’s story it is one of the longest andpossibly the first “real” love-story we encounter. It isa misunderstanding tragedy of idealisation between
him and Grace, clashing on cultural grounds andexpectations towards what is the meaning of theirrelationship. Shoei would be happier with a ‘shallower,
less unsettling’ love and regards his time with Grace
as if it was from a movie, as ‘fiction’ before his real life
starts. This time solitude embraces two people fallingin love.
The stories of Mr Yoneyama and Mr Takahashi
explore broken families from different perspectives,
cleverly mirroring the solitude of modern men. The
first is an unwilling stranger to his wife and children;for some unknown reason he is unable to manifest
or communicate his needs despite his yearning forconnection with his loved ones. Those conflictual
feelings are portrayed as raw and heart-renderingto the reader. On the other hand, Mr Takahashi ishighly detached from reality as he perceives himself
as a good husband and father mainly because herepresents the household breadwinner. Yet, he is
oblivious of what his wife and kids are up to these days
and not particularly interested in finding out while heengages in extramarital affairs. The turning point in Mr
Takahashi introspective journey is the encounter withhis new American colleague, who he starts spending
more and more time with, showcasing an “oddly” close

by Jayne Joso
Seren (2021)
ISBN-13: 978-1781725894
Review by Eleonora Faina

Japan Stories is a collection of short fictions by Jayne
Joso, some of which gracefully illustrated by Japanese
Manga artist NAMIKO. All these stories revolve aroundthe main characters’ loneliness taking many shapes
and forms, often accompanied by trauma, emotional
detachment, shame, and contempt towards “normal”
people. Those who manage to function and connect
in the society are mostly mocked, but also envied. Thatis because all main characters are outcasts to somedegree, few of them (Oona, Chizuru, Bowie) shaped
after Joso’s real acquaintances.
Far from being a light-hearted read, Japan
Stories’ succinct format is quite perfect to engage withthese stories effectively; the latest section of the bookcalled ‘The Miniatures’ presents even shorter, haikulike features. It must have been a long time coming for
Joso’s latest work to come to life; despite claiming she
never intended to write with a theme in mind she stillbirthed a peculiar cohesive piece of modern literature
in one go.
Her influence as a writer and her fascination withJapan is strongly connected to Angela Carter’s work,
specifically Fireworks, a selection of short stories Carter
wrote whilst she was living in Tokyo. Carter’s poetic
activity combined to a deep appreciation for haiku
and the work of Lydia Davis highly influenced Joso’s
choice of short format for this publication, exercising
brevity as a form of control over her imaginary world.
Interestingly, in her past work Joso’s approachto Japanese culture has been somehow reverential
by wanting to translate it to the Western public as
accurately as possible. My Falling Down House another Seren-published book taking place in Japanand winner of The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Award- was written on those bases. This publication
though, follows a different approach. This time Joso is
4Issue 96 Volume 16 Number 6 (December 2021)

relationship with his family and unshakable marital
values. The comparison highlights to both the readers
and to the main character how lonely Mr Takahashi
truly is in his life, the shallowness of his character andthe weightlessness of his relationships and status.
Joso’s writing style is perfect to describe these
themes, her sentences often repeating, mimicking thenatural train of thoughts of an obsessive mind. Her
ability to shapeshift into a diverse deck of characterswith different communication abilities and traumas
is remarkable. The language is predominantly
descriptive, and some stories are quite cryptic andneed several reads to come to life and solve the puzzle
Joso puts in front of you. All stories present degrees ofrealism but from time to time they can take a magicaltangent, sprinkling elements of the extraordinary in an
ordinary and, at times, alienating Japanese life.
Misaki’s story perfectly encapsulates this bydescribing a young woman’s sense of self-sufficiency,
purposely alienating others her entire life, escaping
societal pressure and social conventions. Her nihilist
nature despises the ‘act of being human’ and regardssocialising as a farse. She embarks on an apparently
random quest of building a tower – representing botha mean of isolation and connection – by herself inthe neighbourhood she lives in, whilst the pandemic
dictates social distancing. Surprised and amused byher neighbours’ acts of kindness alongside morbid
curiosity for her strange pursuit, the story suddenly
assumes supernatural tones.
Joso’s use and characterisation of physicalspaces here transcends its mere structural form.
Describing herself as a solitary child who put lots ofeffort in curating what inhabited her room and her
surroundings, her deliberate approach to structuraldescriptions in Japan Stories instantly assumes a
deeper meaning. This tendency manifests in her
depictions of Japanese houses, living organisms

subject to transformation by taking different shapes
using shoji (sliding doors)- possibly translating asa metaphor of human behaviour. Chizuru’s story isrepresentative of this, her house a reflection of herinternal world, regulated by unbreakable rules. The
central room does not match the traditional style of theentire house and is completely covered in cellophane,to protect (or to separate) what is most precious to thislandlady character.
Arguably, not only the Japanese society but alsoWestern ones are experiencing a collective generational
solitude due to a widespread sense of instability (jobrelated, market-related, and consequentially liferelated). In Japan this has been historically present
and – to a point – inherited in a low birth rate society
where long-working hours, sense of duty and status
are the pillars of one’s self-identity. As we also seemto live in a culture nudging us to cast aside negative
emotions – or avoiding their exploration and meaning
as much as possible – this further pushes individuals
to be not only disconnected to others, but mostly tothemselves.
This solitude is familiar and transcends cultures,and here that is where the true power of this book lies.
Open to interpretation, it could be read as a critique to
the Japanese society, an analysis of similes in Westernand Eastern social matrixes and its elements ofalienation, but also as a love letter to a country where
Joso spent several years of her life, honouring withevery description its architecture and rituals.
This book could be easily read in one go, but
I refrain you to do so. Some stories are quite heartbreaking, a few might require a re-read to be decrypted
and others may event haunt your mind, demandingtime to be fully digested. Overall, representing a goodfirst approach to Joso’s work, Japan Stories allows thereader to savour her distinctive style in small, deliciously
bitter bites.§

Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love

perhaps it is just plain old desire, born out throughall the power and force of modern day consumerism.
And so, to the latest Murakami Haruki book.
But wait... it’s not a novel, or even one of his alwayspopular short story collections. No, Murakami T: The
T-Shirts I Love is something else entirely, an ode tothat most humble item of clothing, as the author takes
us through a selection of some of the favourites fromhis own personal wardrobe. The volume’s handsome
dust jacket tells us that the T-shirts photographed anddiscussed here are in many ways just an extension

by Murakami Haruki
translated by Philip Gabriel
Harvill Secker (2021)
ISBN-13: 978-1787303195
Review by Laurence Green
What is it that compels us to collect? A means by whichto assert order and structure within a chaotic, messy
world? An unerring impetus toward that foreverunattainable promise of the ‘complete’ collection? Or
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5

to some of Murakami’s other obsessions, including
his well-documented passion for running (which hefamously wrote about in What I Talk About When I
Talk About Running) and, of course, his collection of
10,000 vinyl records. And yet, as Murakami explainsin the book’s opening essay, he isn’t especiallyinterested in collecting things, they just seem toaccumulate. Like a kind of antithesis to KonMari andher decluttering regime, Murakami sees objects pileup, gathering around him, even if they don’t serve
any obvious purpose. He is, he claims, resigned to it.
Portions of this book originally appeared in theultra-hip Japanese men’s fashion magazine Popeye
between August 2018 and January 2020. Fitting,given Murakami himself was a reader of Popeye backwhen it launched in the 1970s, and he would regularlypurchase the magazine for customers to leaf throughas they frequented the jazz bar he was runningat the time. The 1970s were also when Murakami
recalls illustrated T-shirts first starting to appear inJapan, with a particular predilection at the time forthose bearing the branding of American Ivy League
universities. We discover that most of Murakami’s
T-shirts come from the thrift store Goodwill in Hawaii,
and that after the publication of the original articles
in Popeye magazine, the prices rose - coincidence, ornot?
Often, the T-shirts are merely a springboard
to talk about something else entirely. There is anamazing chapter where Murakami expounds several
paragraphs on the virtues of picking up a cheese
hamburger (onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, plus
a side of French fries and coleslaw) in the USA andenjoying it alongside a Coors Light. This is the kindof writing that Murakami’s fans lap up with voracious
appetite; a pulpy, fast-food love affair with theminutiae of life’s little pleasures. For Murakami, it isa means of ‘imbibing the atmosphere’, a symbolic
arrival in ‘America’ far more meaningful than theplane actually touching down on the tarmac. He
then follows this up with an equally wonderful piecesinging the joys of good whisky. Many of Murakami’s
novels have attracted fan-made playlists compilingthe many records he mentions in them - perhaps thisbook could do with something similar in the form of
tasting notes?
As always, it’s Murakami’s mixture of casual
friendliness paired with a kind of sagely wisdom thatcharms in the extreme. His eye for the bizarre, orjust downright random. Did you know, for example,
that ‘If you wear a T-shirt with an animal design, the6chances are very good that a girl or woman will tellyou, “Whoa - that’s so cute!”’ - In Murakami’s novels,
chance encounters and happenstance like this are
the stuff that a whole novel’s worth of action springs
forth from, but even here, these bitesize essays giveoff the buzz of the everyday banal turned life-affirming
wonder. Philip Gabriel - serving on translation duties
here hot on the heels of his work on Murakami’s
recent short stories collection First Person Singular
as well as a number of earlier works - does soundbusiness again in capturing this easy breeziness in all
its glory.
The Murakami textual “style” - as rendered
in English - is now so especially identifiable andmemorable that there’s often an unavoidable airof commercialism to it now. But perhaps that is, ina way, what this book is an extension of. Given thesubject matter, and the fact it stems from writing first
featured in a fashion magazine, this somehow fits iteven more than usual; Murakami as “brand”, throughand through. The book’s copyright page is a bizarre
hotchpotch of iconographic intellectual property
and trademarks - the Shelby Cobra, Astro Boy, Iron
Man, even the rock group R.E.M. These are the heroesof the 20th and 21st century, the means by which
we mark modernity. The book’s front cover revels inperhaps the most ubiquitous of all brands: Coca-Cola.
The back cover? ‘Keep Calm And Read Murakami’. Of
course.
Is Murakami’s passion for T-shirts really sostrange, nowadays - in an era where running trainers(‘sneakers’, even) are seen as quasi art objects
commanding eye-boggling price tags? As perhaps
the icon of world literature that best commands thepulse of global pop-cultural stardom, Murakami’s
fiction has always felt like more than simply “writing”,
it is a product, a kind of “packaged” entity in its own
right. While for some, Murakami’s tendency over the
past decade or so toward a kind of more populist
prose skews away from the ersatz literary noise hedisplayed in his early work, it has clearly done his
career no harm. Now more famous and beloved thanever, every paragraph from his pen seems to add to
his gravitas.
This pint-sized hard-back volume is a strange
object, no doubt about it. Difficult to categorise, it isnonetheless an immensely enjoyable read, in a way
only Murakami can be. Not only the perfect stocking
filler for the Murakami fan in your life, but anotherfascinating piece in the enigma-like puzzle of a global
superstar.§
Issue 96 Volume 16 Number 6 (December 2021)

monk: Light and Shadow on
the Philosopher’s Pathby Imai Yoshihirotranslated by Naomi Reis and Emmy
Reis
Phaidon Press (2021)
ISBN-13: 978-1838662547
Review by Riyoko Shibe

monk: Light and shadow on the Philosopher’s Path isa chef monograph, where, through food writing – a
blend of personal essays and photographs revolving
around food and nature, concluding with a number ofrecipes – Imai Yoshihiro tells the story of his fourteenseated wood-fire pizza restaurant.
Imai started working at a pizzeria while studying
sociology at university and spent his holidays
interning at different restaurants. It was in this periodthat he fell in love with the process of making pizza
dough, and in 2015, he opened his own restaurant,monk, on the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto.
Echoing the inspiration behind the restaurant,
the book is divided by seasons with images to match.
Opening with spring, photos of bright blue skies,
foraged foods and farms alternate with bright platesof spring vegetables and fruits; colourful pizzas areinterspersed with photographs of blooming cherry
blossoms. Summer, Autumn and Winter follow.
Each element of monk is given space andprominence, from a single ingredient to the

NUNO: Visionary JapaneseTextilesby Sudo Reiko
edited by Naomi Pollock
Thames and Hudson (2021)
ISBN-13: 978-0500022689
Review by David Tonge
In the late 1990’s I was working at a design company
in the Axis building in Roppongi, Tokyo. The Axis
building is known as a place to see design and craft
related exhibitions as well being the headquarters of
Axis magazine, a global design journal. It is also thehome of several stores. One of these, located in thebasement, is called NUNO, simply meaning “cloth” inJapanese.
While I didn’t know its significance at the time,
I would browse their bolts of unique fabrics, buying
small samples for reference and the occasional
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architecture and design of the building itself, tothe joys of hospitality. In ‘The Yayoi Stone Ax’, Imaiwrites about the tools he uses to cook, while in‘Vessels’, he ponders the dishes used to serve food.
In another chapter, ‘The Mushroom Whisperer’, bywriting a homage to Sasaki Yu, a mushroom forager
who sources the mushrooms used in the restaurant,
he uncovers meaning and joy behind the ingredientused at monk.
Bringing each element of the restaurant alive,
Imai makes all aspects of monk familiar and relatable
to his audience: not only philosophy, history andtradition, but also practical elements like the troubles
brought by Covid – both financial and emotional –and staffing issues, rent and sustainability. In the
essay ‘Life and Work’ he explores his own perspective
on work/life balance simply by tracing his day fromwaking up and eating breakfast with his children,
shopping for vegetables, ordering fish, and dailyyoga. Seamlessly, the day folds into food preparation,
service at the restaurant, closing up, and the walkhome.
The book closes with 75 recipes – each rather
simple if tweaked to swap out the stated local Kyoto
ingredients for alternatives, and to fit a standard
oven over a wood-fired one. These recipes serve as afitting conclusion, making real the themes exploredthroughout the book.§finished piece, such as the scarf I happened to bewearing in the first Autumn chill a few days ago.
Leafing through the impressive NUNO: Visionary
Japanese Textiles by Suda Reiko, I was delighted tobe reacquainted with their work. This luxurious large
format book, bound in NUNO fabric, is encyclopaedic
in both content and weight and is a fitting celebrationof their work.
So why is NUNO and in particular Suda Reiko
important to the world of textiles?
NUNO was founded in the 1980’s by Arai
Junichi. Born into a textile manufacturing family
based in Gunma Prefecture, Arai was not cut out forbusiness so instead used his knowledge as a textile
consultant. After collaborating with the big fashionnames including Miyake Issey and Yamamoto Yoji inthe 1970’s and 1980’s, he was on the map.
Invited to open a store in the then newly
developed and aforementioned Axis building he7

created a treasure trove of textiles for his customers
to experience, and called it NUNO using the kanji
character for “cloth” (布) still in use today. Shortly
after, Arai was joined by Suda Reiko who like Araicame from a family steeped in traditional Japanese
textiles.
Where Arai and his experimental approachleft off, Suda continued to develop the output andintroduce the name of NUNO to a global audience.
With a dizzying list of accolades, she and her teamadvise companies such as MUJI on the use of recycled
fabrics, collaborate with architects and art institutions
on global exhibits as well as working with artisansand educating students of textile design, all the while
continuing to create unique fabrics and products for
public consumption through their stores in Tokyoand beyond.
When thinking of Japanese textiles, we might
conjure up an image of dimly lit ateliers with artisans
practising the labour-intensive processes required tocreate fabrics for making kimonos, the indigo dyed
fabrics found in everyday household items or the
globally coveted Okayama selvedge denim createdfor jeans. In contrast, but aligned with, Suda’s work
stretches, smashes and subverts the strengths andweaknesses of a fabric to find unique applications
and aesthetics beyond what we may think of as
Japanese. It’s a no holds barred approach and whileits (annoyingly) common for people to use the word
“disrupter” these days, NUNO truly deserve thismantel within the textile industry.
This context is made simple in the insightful
introduction by renowned Japanese architecture anddesign author Naomi Pollock, who deftly highlights
the achievements and charts NUNO’s journey
explaining how and why they are so revered andinfluential in the world of textiles. A fact re-affirmed,
if you were fortunate enough to visit, in the recent
Japan House London exhibit Making NUNO.
But it was when I read the chapter titles that I fellin love with this book. Each of the eight chapters use
onomatopoeic descriptors according to the feeling
evoked when touching a fabric – Fuwa Fuwa, Shiwa
Shiwa, Kiwa Kiwa, Zawa Zawa and so on. No doubt wehave all struggled to describe the troubling texture ofvelvet for example? Even if we don’t speak Japanese,
onomatopoeia provides a unique and thoughtprovoking solution to this problem and a great way
to guide you through their work.

Each of these chapters feature an essay by aluminary of the arts world, including author Murakami
Haruki, architect Ito Toyo and musician Arto Lindsay.
Perhaps more interesting for me, as a designer, arethe ‘Portraits of a Textile’ at the end of each chapter,
describing the process and inspiration used to create
each fabric, including details from NUNO’s sketchbooks and photos of team members in the act of
creation.
If forced to pick out a favourite it would be
Zawa Zawa (p. 258) which is interpreted as ‘The
rumble of the unknown,’ as something unnervingly
unidentifiable. Surely a fitting way to describe
NUNO itself. It starts with four poems about noiseby the American musician Arto Lindsay, a long-term
collaborator of Sakamoto Ryuichi. Lindsay writes
and sings in a surreal haiku-like style. For example in‘Almost Aphoristic’ (p. 262) he writes:
Noise of hair on skinUnconscious Noise
Applying Lipstick... something unnervingly unidentifiable.

But it is the sheer breadth of creative processes
and dynamic visual nature of the fabrics that are socompelling. A few to mention are Tataki – a patchworkof prints punched together, Big Ring – a stretchy
cotton crepe (the material of my scarf ), Computer
Chip – a woven and beautifully detailed geometricgraphic of a computer chip, Scrapyard Iron Plates – arust infused printed fabric, and we must not forgetHeat-moulded Velvet – where the effect is crinkly,
crumbly, and earthy. A velvet I might get to like!
While photos cannot do the fabrics justice, these are
all beautifully illustrated with full page colour images
befitting of a Thames and Hudson art monograph.
If your interest in Japan is in the purely
traditional, then this book might not be for you. But
if, like me, your interest in Japan is in its ingenuity,
creativity and commercial instinct combined with its
traditional craft culture, then I can whole heartedly
recommend this book for your Christmas list. And
when we can travel again, please do visit the NUNO
store in Roppongi and experience the emotions that
Suda Reiko’s creativity and fabric inspire. §