About the School: Internationality 9 | Interviews with Graduates

-Following in the footsteps of a teacher who had shown a Kasuri piece that she made-    Aroonprapai Rojanachotikul

The Internationality segment of a series introducing Kawashima Textile School (KTS). At KTS, which has international recognition in the handweaving community, unique connections have developed, in which students of former students who have since become educators in the textile field, come to study. In Parts 9 and 10, we will bring you interviews with a teacher and student. First, we talk to the student, Aroonprapai Rojanachotikul, about how she came to know KTS from her teacher, what was memorable about her studies, and what weaving means to her.

Aroonprapai organizing samples for her class

Aroonprapai Rojanachotikul (Nickname: Prang) (Thai)
Textile Artist and Natural Dye and Pigment Specialist
Currently living in Thailand
Courses: Natural Dyeing Workshop (2013), Beginners, Foundation Kasuri, Applied Kasuri I, II, III* (October 2014 to February 2015)
*now part of Applied Kasuri II

-Could you tell us why you chose to study at KTS? How did your teacher introduce you to our school?

After I graduated in Textile Design from Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand in 2012, I returned to Thailand. I trained and worked as a Brocade weave artist at Hariphunchai Institute of Handwoven Textiles. After a year, I realized I wanted to explore more on other weave techniques. Suddenly I remembered while studying at Massey, my teacher, Flora Waycott showed us her Kasuri weave she did while I was in my second year at university. She mentioned that it was KTS based in Kyoto, Japan.

I searched through the Internet and found KTS. I checked out workshops and courses that were available at the time for international students. I chose to apply for the Natural Dyeing "Colors of the Heian Period" workshop in 2013 first to survey the facilities, courses, and environment. I had such an amazing time at the school and decided that I will be back to do the Kasuri courses.

In 2014, I returned to KTS once again for a much longer stay. I was thrilled and excited so I contacted Flora instantly to tell her that I followed her footprint to Kyoto and found KTS. She wished me good luck and to enjoy my time in KTS.

-What do you remember most about your time studying at KTS?

All the staff and students were very friendly. They reached out and tried to help as much as they could. I met a group of wonderful people from various fields, some were already involved in textile, some were curious about textile and wanted to learn about it. We had fun traveling through Kyoto and learned about the life and culture together. I still recall vividly how Hori-sensei managed to help me through many, many colour corrections when my dye session wasn't going as planned. Friendships that came from many Japanese students that helped me out when beaming my kasuri warp on a super cold, gloomy and snowy day. They made sure that I ate, when I refused to come out of my loom while trying to finish my weave just before Christmas break approached. When I was sick, everyone was making sure I was alright. There were so many memorable moments for me while I was at KTS. I really consider it another home away from home.

"My work, and also small samples for the workshop I teach. It is a traditional technique for making Palm leaves manuscript cover, made as offerings to the temple. It is made by using bamboo strips and thread woven together. It is a combination of weave and crochet. This technique can only be found in Mae Chaem district in Chiangmai. Nowadays, only a few people practice this technique."

-How has your experience at KTS influenced you?

Since I am now also teaching, I think KTS has influenced how I teach. What I learned at KTS was to be thorough, accurate, and mindful in every process, which I think was a very good way to learn and be taught. Therefore, when I teach, I want my students to be well guided like I did when I was at KTS. It also helps my own personal practice to be systematic and detailed.

-What does weaving mean to you?

As time goes by, for me the meaning of weaving has changed a lot. Weaving was a way for my creative output to express myself, to connect mind and craft together. Sometimes, even as a stress relief remedy. Now, the connection between weave and I have deepened. I consider myself as a tool where I become a loom, my hands are the shuttles and my mind is doing all the threading and shafts lifting. It has certainly become more meaningful over the years. The bond between weaving and me, no longer stays just behind a loom and textiles I created. It influences my life philosophy and broadens my perspective. When weaving, mistakes were made and learned. Almost anything is fixable. That has become my principle and how I teach my students now too, to not be afraid of making mistakes and just go for it.

Follow Aroonprapai on instagram at @prang_aroon.

About the School: Internationality Series 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

Graduate Exhibition 2020

Smokey Sunset　Beatrice Thompson*

*Please read our interview with Beatrice at the end of the post.

This year's Graduate Exhibition will be held from March 10 (Wed) to 14 (Sun) at the Annex of Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. Please note that depending on the situation, dates are subject to further change. If so, we will announce them as soon as possible on our website.

Kawashima Textile School Graduate Exhibition
2020.3.10 (Wed.) -14 (Sun.)　10:00 - 17:00 Admission Free
*Please note that the opening hours have changed this year.
Annex of Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (Kyoto-shi Bijutsukan BEKKAN)
Google Maps

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Measures to Prevent the Infection or Spread of Coronavirus

We will be taking the following measures to prevent the infection or spread of Coronavirus. We kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation.

Requests to Visitors
*Please wear a mask.
*Visitors’ body temperatures will be checked upon entry through thermography and/or thermometers (by Kyoto City). Those who have a fever over 37.5 cannot enter.
*Please write down your full name, address, and phone number upon entry (required by Kyoto City). Those who cannot cooperate will not be able to enter. (updated Mar. 3, 2021)
*Please wash and sanitize your hands.
*Please refrain from visiting If you have any of the following symptoms:
cold symptoms, strong fatigue, difficulty of breathing
-You have travelled to a region or country where COVID-19 is spreading, in the past 14 days.
*Please keep a distance of 2m from other visitors/staff.
*Please do not touch the artwork.
*Please refrain from having loud conversations.

Our Measures
*Staff will wear masks and check their temperatures.
*Hand sanitizer is provided upon entry.
*Handrails, coin lockers, etc. will be sanitized.
*There is a possibility that we will limit the number of visitors to prevent overcrowding.

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Interview with Beatrice Thompson (Australia)

We asked Beatrice, whose tapestry is shown in the exhibition images, about what life has been like since studying at Kawashima Textile School. Beatrice studied in the Foundation Kasuri Course and Applied Kasuri Course I to III in autumn 2019.

-Has your work broadened from your experience of learning Kasuri in Japan? If so, could you tell us how?

I left Kawashima Textile School feeling like a whole new world had opened up to me. I have long been fascinated by ikat textiles and understood on a basic theoretical level how they were created but could never get my head around how it was possible to keep all the threads aligned according to the designed pattern through all the different stages. It was wonderful to have the process explained step by step on practical level and I now feel like I have an excellent foundation to develop from.

In the past I have experimented with screen-printing photographic images onto the warp threads prior to weaving – so the imagery found on my work had a strong photographic quality about it. While at KTS I really enjoyed focusing more on geometric and abstract patterning and feel inspired to take that much further. Also, prior to studying at the School I did not have much experience with dyeing threads, I left feeling much more confident in this skill and look forward to doing much more dyeing in the future.

My time at KTS was the first time I had been to Japan and I absolutely loved the experience. It was very inspiring, and I hope to make my way back to Japan soon and also back to KTS to have the opportunity to have some dedicated focused time weaving and learning more kasuri skills. Like everyone I hope that the coronavirus will be brought under control soon.

-What have you been working on since your time at KTS?

I work full time so I do not have as much time as I would like to spend weaving and creating but I have managed to find some time to work on a few projects since leaving Kawashima Textile School in December 2019. In my last week at the School I prepared a kasuri warp for a wall hanging which I wove once I returned to Australia. The workshop spaces at KTS, the weave rooms and the dye studio were so fantastic and well equipped. Since returning home, I have mostly been doing some sampling and trying to figure out ways I can continue to explore the kasuri technique at home in a more limited space and with the equipment I have at home. In 2020 I also completed a couple of non-kasuri commissions – a tapestry wall-hanging and an upholstery job for which I shiboried some cloth. This year I would like to work towards creating some more wall hangings.


You can visit follow Beatrice on instagram at @beatrice_t_thompson

About the School: Internationality 8 | Interviews with Graduates

-A connection across generations, learning Japanese and studying abroad long-term-    Hsiang Hsuan Chen

The Internationality segment of a series introducing Kawashima Textile School (KTS). Over three weeks from part 8, we will bring you graduate interviews about how connections unique to KTS have developed, in which students of former students who have since become educators in the textile field, come to study. Hsiang Hsuan Chen, who had worked as a costume designer in Taiwan, came to Japan to join the Professional Course at KTS upon hearing about the school from a teacher who had studied here in the past. Hsiang Hsuan studied at KTS for two years after acquiring language skills at a Japanese language school. We talked about how that came to be, her thoughts, what left an impression on her about her studies at KTS, and what weaving means to her.

家書4/1/20-6/7/20　mom, i’m fine 4/1/20-6/7/20
"A piece inspired by the Coronavirus pandemic."
(to be shown in "Kyoto Art for Tomorrow 2021")

Hsiang Hsuan Chen (陳 湘璇 Taiwanese)
Tapestry Weaving Craftsperson at Kawashima Selkon Textiles Co, Ltd.
Currently living in Japan
Courses: 1st and 2nd year of the Professional Course (April 2018 to March 2020)


-Could you tell us about how you, Chen-san, who had been working as a costume designer in Taiwan, came to the decision to study textiles, and even to study abroad in Japan to do so?

I first learned about natural dyeing at a part-time job when I was a university student. I had started a handmade brand, and my interest in dyeing deepened when I made a piece using an indigo vat which belonged to an indigo dyeing artist I knew. After that, I was exposed to different kinds of fabric through my work as a costume designer for films, and it was very fun to come upon various textiles, from modern to old. Among them, I was always fascinated by traditional Japanese textiles. At the fabric market I often visited, there was a store specializing in importing Japanese fabric, and even the textures and patterns of the reproduction fabric sold there was very nice.

I wanted to know more about textiles, so I received training in natural dyeing and weaving at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. However, there was a limit to what I could learn in a short period of time, and I had to leave without taking a weaving class, for a job I really wanted to take. I always wanted to learn more after that, so I searched for a school where I could study dyeing and weaving. From the beginning, I had decided that my destination would be Japan, but didn't know where I could study traditional dyeing and weaving seriously. I had considered Master's programs at art schools, but the direction seemed different from learning practical techniques, and I couldn't find a vocational school in the field I wanted to study, so I couldn't decide where to go.

At that time, I was introduced to two teachers that had previously studied at KTS over 30 years ago, by a teacher in charge of the training I received at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. (The two teachers were in charge of the basic weaving class, but I couldn't speak to them very much during the training because I wasn't able to attend the class.)

-Could you elaborate on how the teachers, who once studied at KTS, recommended this school to you?

What the teachers told me was that the good thing about KTS is, that as a dyeing and weaving school, you can learn a great deal about the mechanics and technical aspects of weaving. They said that If I didn't mind that I wouldn't be getting a degree (because there is no credit or degree system), they would recommend KTS over art schools.

In addition, Japan has a wealth of materials related to textiles, because they had properly stored what had been brought in from all over the world since ancient times. I heard that they decided to go to KTS because they were introduced to the school by Yen Shui-long, who was called the father of Taiwanese crafts, and that in those days, it was difficult to enter KTS without a referral.

The teachers said they learned a lot about weaving structures back then at KTS. What was particularly interesting to hear was that it was too much content to learn alone, so it seems that the two studied different techniques, and taught each other. It seems that they really gained a wealth of knowledge about dyeing and weaving at KTS.

願い (2020)
"A piece in which I mainly used old books and linen selvedges."
Reusing materials is something I am always trying to do.

-Could you tell us about how you entered KTS after attending a Japanese language school?

I immediately looked up KTS after hearing this. From looking at the school's website, I thought I could certainly learn various techniques. Some classes were conducted in English, but all long-term courses of one year or more were in Japanese, so I started to study Japanese seriously.

To be honest, studying abroad was an unexpected thing in my life. When I decided to go, I was 25 years old, and I thought that I was at a stage where I had to work my hardest. In addition, I thought that if I spent too much time studying Japanese, I wouldn't be able to pursue my original purpose, so I came to Kyoto after learning the basics by myself for about half a year while working in Taiwan. I also shortened the study period at the Japanese language school as much as possible, and tried to speak with Japanese people in places other than school on a daily basis. After graduating from the N3 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test for half a year, I entered KTS.

Regarding Japanese proficiency, general universities require a level equivalent to N2 or higher, so I was really grateful that KTS accepted me. The people at KTS always responded with care. I was worried about my Japanese skills, but I thought it was a waste to spend more time, and believed that it was important to do what I wanted to do quickly. Even so, I was nervous every day when I first joined KTS. The two years I studied at school went by very fast.

-Is there anything that left a big impression on you about your studies at KTS?

There are times when I am still amazed that I started weaving at the school, and became able to handle thread. And when I look back and think about the most memorable and important thing, I think it would be the fact that my experiences at KTS broadened my views of the textile world. In addition to the full-time teachers, I received lectures from various people such as artists and part-time teachers, and now I can think more freely about my creations.

After graduating from university in Taiwan, I gradually became unable to spend time creating for myself, but by coming to Japan and studying at KTS, I was able to rediscover the joy of creating again. I had liked textured things from the beginning, and by studying dyeing and weaving, I feel that the media and techniques used in my work have expanded, and that I have become able to express more diversely by using different materials and weaving structures. Without those two years, my view of textiles would have remained narrow (though I think it still tends to be).

-What does weaving mean to you?

Weaving to me is a collection of time, space, and thoughts. Woven fabric is one of the things that are unique to humankind, not found in other animals, and people in the past and present have been making them in line with the climate and social customs of that era. They are both functional and emotional. For example, questions such as why did people spend so much time embroidering old aristocratic costumes, why are abstract patterns necessary in indigenous fabric, and what kind of background and demand invented the twill weaving structure, make us think about how profound woven fabric is. There are actually a lot of messages in one piece of fabric, and I think it's very interesting to savor that.

From the Industrial Revolution to modern overproduction, it seems that there is a tendency that the meaning contained in fabric is disappearing, but I think that is precisely why I have to ask myself constantly, how and for what I make textile pieces in this era.

*Hsiang Hsuan's work will be shown in "Kyoto Art for Tomorrow 2021" at the Museum of Kyoto, from January 23, 2021.

outsider in the dream (2019)
(Seeds Award, Japan Textile Contest 2019)

You can visit follow Hsiang Hsuan on instagram at @shung_shouko

Our "Student Voice" post by Hsiang Hsuan in 2020.

About the School: Internationality Series 1/2/3/4/5/6/7