I took a day excursion with the ladies of the Tokyo American Club to the Kubota Art Museum, a pyramid-shaped structure supported by 1000 year-old cypress beams, nestled in the woods very near Mt. Fuji. It was a beautiful day - sunny and crisp. The art museum displays the kimonos of Itchiku Kubota, an artist whose passion in life was to re-create the ancient textile art of kimono design "tsujigahana". After many years of research, trial and error, he finally accomplished the art and produced 44 kimonos worth in the millions, and displayed at the Smithsonian in 1989.
It unfathonable how the intricate tie-dying of each kimono is accomplished, which takes over a year to produce, and when hung side by side form a panoramic tapestry. The colors and scenes are breathtaking - many of which are of Mt. Fuji. He spent years creating scenes of autumn and winter, and his son and son-in-law are now producing his spring and summer themes since Kubota's passing in 2002.
All in all, a lovely day at a beautiful site with women of many accents, many of whom have been in Tokyo a few years raising their children and loving life here.
