An exhibition of Japanese Katazome paintings by artist Toba Mika will be held at Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang on October 20.

Art works capture and honor the beauty of natural landscapes and ancient towns in Vietnam, using Japanese traditional dyeing technique called Katazome.

The Japanese artist arrived in Vietnam for the first time in 1994. She explored the invisible connections between Katazome paintings and Vietnamese natual beauty and heritages. 

Since then Viet Nam has become the subject for her works. She has created many paintings depicting major changes in Viet Nam during the process of the innovation.

Mika organized several exhibitions in Vietnam, including a special exhibition of her works on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Japan - Viet Nam Diplomatic Relations in 2003; a display of Hue ancient capital at the Royal Palace in Hue in 2005; the exhibition themed “Nara and Ha Noi – Connection of Eternal Capitals” celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi and 1,300 years of the ancient capital of Nara in 2010.

Japanese artist Toba Mika was born in 1961 in Aichi prefecture. She currently lectures at the Kyoto City University of Arts, her MA alma mater. 

Her contributions to promoting the Vietnam-Japan friendship were officially acknowledged with a medal from Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Katazome is a traditional Japanese stencil technique using a katagami stencil and flour and water resist paste. It is one of the oldest fabric print making techniques in Japan. 

The Katazome dyeing technique consists of 18 complicated stages so not many Japanese artists use this technique. Besides cotton, katazome has been used to decorate linen, silk and fabrics that are all or partially synthetic.

SGGP