About the School: Internationality 1

-A quiet sustainability much like planting and growing seeds-

We bring you the Internationality segment of our series introducing Kawashima Textile School (KTS). We will introduce the school's international involvement through weaving such as the spread of internationalization that has continued from the founding, an interview with the teacher, and voices from students. Part 1 is about the background of the internationalization of the school.

Harumi Isobe became a teacher at KTS in 1978, after working at the Research and Development Department at Kawashima Textile Manufacturers Ltd.* and at the HV Atelier. She became a bridge between HV and KTS and the exchange program began. The photo is of an article about Sweden by Harumi Isobe, which was published in the company newsletter in 1975.

The internationalization of the school was in sight from the conceptual stage of its foundation. Members involved in the foundation visited over 30 schools in Europe and the United States, such as The Cranbrook Academy of Art (USA), and laid a unique foundation by looking at weaving from a global perspective. After its opening, the school has attracted attention as an educational institution of textiles that is rare even overseas, with extensive facilities, and courses that allow students to learn a wide range of topics from basic to advanced specialized techniques. Since then, KTS has created opportunities and space for textile artists and lovers around the world to devote themselves to creating, and has connected international relationships by inviting artists and educators from overseas to give lectures. The foreign exchange program with Handarbetets Vänner Skola (Sweden) still continues to this day. In recent years, KTS has regularly held the "International Students Course" and "Workshops in English" for students from overseas. There are courses such as dyeing and tapestry weaving for overseas travel groups.

KTS is a school in the mountains in the northern area of Kyoto. While practicing quiet sustainability much like planting and growing seeds, international recognition became high, and cross-generational connections have been forming, such as former international students who have become educators in textile introducing KTS to their students, who then come to study. The seeds being passed on from hand to hand, and from person to person, steadily spreading around the world is a characteristic of the international aspect of the school, which has been continuing for 47 years.


*now Kawashima Selkon Textiles Co.,Ltd.