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Kawashima |
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Kawashima Textile School is a centre of textile excellence where anyone looking to learn about traditional textile skills or fine art textiles will be able to find deep inspiration. Although knitting isn't the primary focus of the teaching there, knitters will find much that will enhance their technical skills as well as a vision of textiles that can widen their creative horizons. The tranquil settings provided the perfect location for the 'Fushiginoiroioto' workshops - featured elsewhere on this site. Situated in a beautiful village on the outskirts of the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, the school's gates are always open. The policy of the college is to welcome anyone that really wants to learn, and they are less concerned with whether you are a beginner or advanced, whatever your nationality or educational status |
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There is a broad range of courses - such as woven textiles, dye techniques, embroidery, felt making, basketry, hand spinning, and much more. These can be short courses lasting a few days or weeks, or full-time courses lasting one or more years. Kawashima's educational mission is flexibility - they will tailor the courses to suit your individual needs.  |
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| The school is housed in an award winning building and there is a tranquillity to the surroundings that reflects the calm spirituality for which Kyoto is famous with its unique heritage of tradition and fine craftsmanship lying in close proximity to the school. | |||
| The school was founded by Kawashima Textile Manufacturers Ltd, which is situated on the same campus. This provides a welcome opportunity to see at close quarters many specialised textile processes in which the company excels. One of the surprising things about the company is the breadth of its activity, ranging from environmentally friendly dishcloths (no detergent needed!) to fabrics for the famous shinkansen 'bullet' trains to traditional hand woven silk obi. There is also a textiles museum, run by the company, within the grounds. | |||
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| The teaching staff includes several internationally established Fibre Artists with the result that one of the areas the school is particularly strong in is three-dimensional Textile Arts. | |||
Suzumi Noda |
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With its relaxed 'international' atmosphere foreign visitors normally find themselves feeling at home very quickly. Several members of staff speak some English, and they are very used to dealing with new comers to Japan.. The school can provide residential dormitory accommodation and they are happy to help you with these arrangements. All in all, if you are thinking of making a visit to Japan and you are passionate about textiles, Kawashima Textile School is unlikely to disappoint you. |
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