Kawashima Textile School is a place where students who wish to learn weaving gather from around the world. The International Students Courses, offered every year in spring and autumn, are very popular, as schools with specialized Japanese weaving courses in English are rare. The content was a combination of the Beginners Course, Foundation Kasuri Course, and Applied Kasuri Course, which attracted highly motivated international students in 2024 as well. In the spring semester, we welcomed a total of nine students from Indonesia, Italy, France, Finland, the UK, the US, and Australia, and in the autumn semester, a total of seven students from Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, and the US. In the Applied Kasuri Course held in autumn, students created their original artwork incorporating skills learnt in the Foundation Kasuri Course. Some students work as textile designers, and one said that her style expanded through creating her own artwork during the course, and that the designs were born from studying Kasuri in Japan. The artwork created by these international students will be shown at the graduation exhibition in March next year.
One of the features of the school is that graduates can return to study again. This autumn, we welcomed back a student who took the Applied Kasuri Course after completing the Foundation Kasuri course the previous year, and another who re-took the Applied Kasuri course to build on their Kasuri learning and create new pieces, after completing the Foundation Kasuri and Applied Kasuri courses in 2019. "I like how I can focus on my work, since it's well-equipped and quiet, away from the busyness of the city. I hope to come back again." Other students also commented, "The school had the right tools and facilities to do detailed work," and "It was an honor to be able to study here."
Following on from last year, a student from our partner school in Sweden, HV Skola, introduced their school to students in the Professional Course. The Japanese students and international students exchanged information and knowledge with each other, resulting in encounters and inspiration through weaving.
*Applications for the
International Students Course in Spring 2025 are open until 9AM(JST) Dec. 12.
(Blog series)
About the School: Internationality
