She studied under Yanagi Etsuko at the age of 24. This is a collection of work spanning 50 years since she exhibited at the Kokugakai Crafts Department. This is the first collection of works by Harada Mana, who creates folk-style yet elegant dyed and woven obi and kimonos.
It is a rare book that is hard to find in bookstores or online.
Mana Harada is a leading figure in "megane weaving," said to be a pioneer of the Yoshino Mado, and a well-known dyeing and weaving artist known for her relationship with Shirasu Masako.
She was raised with a rich sensitivity from an early age by her painter parents, who also had connections with Shiga Naoya, and influenced by her grandmother, a master weaver, she encountered dyeing and weaving in her late 20s, studying under Yanagi Etsuko and learning dyeing and weaving. She was active in the Kokugakai and other organizations with her unique style of work, which was created with her own ingenuity, and her unique works with the flavor of hand-woven fabric.
Her unique design style and use of colors were inspired by the poems of the Manyoshu, the sea of southern Izu, the gagaku music of Raryo-o and Osho-cho, and images of the Silk Road, and were then expanded in her mind and abstracted into weaving.
For over 50 years since she chose dyeing and weaving as her life's work, she continued to create wonderful works with her unique creativity and high standards of perfection, serving as a role model for her successors, until her death from illness in 2006.
M's Bookshelf