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By Patricia Belyea
HINOHARA JP The last time I visited Akie Ginza was four years ago. Back then Akie was 89 years old. Good news! She’s still with us — a radiant 93-year old.
The walk up to Akie Ginza’s farmhouse winds along a narrow road, with a creek tumbling down the hillside beside it.
Her traditional country home hugs a hillside full of remarkably straight trees. The imposing 200-year old wooden mansion, once the home of a headman in Niigata prefecture, was moved and reconstructed on this forested site.
After taking off our shoes, tour members and I stepped into Akie’s home and museum. Up two flights of stairs, we entered the main display room filled with stitched masterpieces—noren, kotatsu quilts, furoshiki, dresses and accessories.
Akie’s modern sashiko style stands out through her use of varying thread weights and colorful threads in her original designs.
Akie wasn’t always a master stitcher and sensei. Born in Ehime in 1931, she studied textile and dyeing at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Tokyo.
Her first career was as an artist. She went on to become a cafe owner and clothing shop owner, as well as a poet. Akie authored a free-verse haiku book which she illustrated.
After examining her sashiko work, our group watched a short video and visited with Akie in her home.
Of course, there was a burst of inspired shopping. The Museum store was laden with sashiko supplies, and stitched clothes and gifts.
AKIE GINZA SASHIKO MUSEUM
6128 Nango, Hinode Village, Nishitama District, Tokyo
TEL: 042-598-6200
HOURS: 9:00-17:00 daily
Closed every Wednesday; the 1st, 3rd and 5th Tuesdays of each month; and New Year's holidays
ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria sell Japanese textiles online, host creative quilting experiences, and lead quilting & textile tours to Japan.
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