Cancellation of the Autumn Courses in 2026

We regret to announce that the International Students Course will not be held this autumn, as we are unable to provide adequate support due to a shortage of English-speaking staff.

A Thank You and About Spring Vacation 2026

The 2025 Graduation Exhibition (February 25th - March 1st) has ended successfully. You can see photos from the exhibition and works in our past posts. Thank you to the many people who visited.

Kawashima Textile School will be open during March as usual, but the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) will be closed from March 14 to March 31. We will respond to your emails after April 1. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

Yoshiko Nakajima-Sensei Retirement Announcement

Yoshiko Nakajima-sensei will be retiring at the end of the 2025 school year (March 2026). After encountering handweaving for the first time at Kawashima Textile School in 1974, she has devoted herself to teaching at the school as a full-time instructor since 1979.

A message from Nakajima-sensei:

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I have been involved in teaching spinning, homespun, and weaving, but will be retiring. During my nearly 50 years at the school, I have always wanted to convey the beauty of weaving and the joy of making to those weaving for the first time. I myself will continue to create homespun textiles.

Looking back, I feel that meeting people and placing myself in a teaching environment has broadened my view. I would like to thank all the graduates, those who participated in my workshops, and everyone I have had the opportunity to meet. Thank you very much.

March 2026
Yoshiko Nakajima

Please read our interview on our blog, where we have shared Nakajima-sensei’s philosophies of life linked to hand weaving.

An Interview with Spinning Teacher Yoshiko Nakajima 1/2/3 (Oct. 2020)

*Please leave a comment on our instagram post if you have a message for Nakajima-sensei.

Kawashima Textile School Atelier, 1974

Shifu Weaving Workshop (Jul. 13-17)

We will begin accepting applications for this year's Shifu Weaving workshop (Jul.13-17) at 10AM (JST) on Thursday Feb. 12. Prerequisite skills for the course are weaving, warping, and experience setting up a floor loom.

Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend preparing the following in advance:
-Information of an emergency contact person (address, phone number, email).
-A photo of yourself. A 3.5cm x 4.5cm, color, JPEG file under 400 KB. The background should be white or light-colored. You must be facing forward, without a hat/cap, or sunglasses.
-Please read our “Information about Meals” and “Terms and Conditions” prior to applying.

If you have any questions, please use the contact form.

Graduate Exhibition 2025

Kawashima Textile School Graduate Exhibition
2026.2.25 (Wed.) -3.1 (Sun.)　10:00 - 17:00 Admission Free
Annex of Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (Kyoto-shi Bijutsukan BEKKAN) 2F
Google Maps

Please check our website for updates.

The International Students Course for Autumn 2025 Has Ended

The International Students Course for Autumn 2025 has ended successfully. In the autumn semester, we welcomed six students from the UK, Denmark, France, Norway, and India. Here are the comments from the interviews with the students on the last day of the Applied Kasuri Course (independent project).

Two of the students in the Applied Kasuri Course had completed both the Beginners Course and the Foundation Kasuri Course in the spring semester, and then returned to take the Applied Kasuri Course. One of them enrolled as part of an extended stay in Japan to conduct artistic research after graduating from an art university in Norway. Having completed all the courses, she shared the following impression:
“The courses in spring (the Beginners / Foundation Kasuri Courses) were a very nice way to learn everything from the very beginning and understand how you do it. In the Applied Kasuri Course, it's really nice to have a larger project as part of a portfolio and to actually test out more of the things you learned last time through independent projects. So I felt that taking the extra course in spring became even more valuable in a way, because it made the experience feel like a full package. I feel that this experience has opened more opportunities for me if I choose to pursue the textile art world further. There’s also the possibility that if I apply for a master’s program, it could be in textiles. I’ve also heard a lot about your collaboration with the many Swedish students (from the partner school) who have come here*, which opens up the possibility for me to go to Sweden, as well. So if I decide to go to that scene, it’s definitely already started in Japan.”

This autumn, a student working as a textile artist in the UK took the Foundation and the Applied Kasuri Course. He shares his views on his experience learning Japanese kasuri even after creating works with ikat for some time:
“I learned a lot about Japanese Kasuri through just online research and from books. So, it was really nice to come here and learn firsthand from teachers that have practiced it themselves. I think the Foundation Kasuri Course was challenging for me because I had to adapt to a different way of doing things here. The equipment is set up slightly differently, and the methods are somewhat different as well. It was really interesting to see a different perspective, but it was also a challenge to give up my way of doing things and trying this new way. But I really wanted to increase my technical skill level, and I think the course was definitely designed to develop them. The Applied Kasuri Course was really nice. You could put what you learned into practice and see how to develop those skills in your own style. It was fun, but also challenging. It was also really nice to see the level of attention to detail and care at every stage of the making process. I'm going to take away from this a positive mindset.”

A student from France, who works as a costume maker, took time off from work in the spring to attend the Beginners and Foundation Kasuri Courses. With the mindset that "this is the year for learning, and I will do it all," she returned to Japan in the autumn to take the Applied Kasuri Course. She shared the following comments about the school’s environment: “For me, it started feeling like home after coming here twice this year. I was very impressed with the number of looms, also the kindness of the other students. I really enjoy chatting with them. Sometimes there is a language limit, but I feel that everyone has been friendly to us, which I really appreciate. I also really like the school building itself--the light, the fact that there is grass outside, and that we can see the trees changing with the seasons. I appreciate the help of all the teachers as well. It's been really good. I wanted to take the Applied Kasuri Course to make sure that I would be ready to buy a loom. Now I know I'm going to buy one. I hope I can continue practicing. I'm still very new to it, so I need to see what happens when I have my own loom and decide what I want to do first. But I'm excited about that.”


*Applications for the International Students Course in Spring 2026 are open until 9AM(JST) Jan. 8.

Winter Vacation

Kawashima Textile School will be closed for Winter Vacation from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5, and the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6. We will respond to your emails after Jan. 7. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

Applications OPEN: International Students Course Spring 2026

Applications are now open until 9AM (JST) Jan. 8, 2026 for the International Students Course in Spring 2026. Please see here for more information.

Foundation Kasuri Course: Oct. 1-22
Applied Kasuri Course: Oct. 27-Dec. 2

Summer Vacation

Kawashima Textile School will be closed for Summer Vacation from August 9 to August 17, and the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) from July 26 to August 21. We will respond to your emails after August 22. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

The International Students Course for Spring 2025 Has Ended

The International Students Course for Spring 2025 has ended successfully. In the spring semester, we welcomed seven students from France, Germany, Norway, the United States, and Mexico.

The students wove a sample piece and dishcloths in the Beginners Course, and a double (warp and weft) Kasuri sample, cushion cover, and shifted warp kasuri cloths in the Foundation Kasuri Course under the guidance of instructor Emma Omote, and all completed the course(s). The final day ended in smiles, and the students shared the following impressions. “It’s cool to be a part of the International class, meeting people from different cultures, and we are all navigating living here, and having experiences together has been pretty cool.” “I knew nothing (about weaving) when coming to the school, but learning everything was easy, broken down into steps to follow. The teacher was patient, and everyone was helpful. I learned so much.” “I love to be able to watch what the 1st and 2nd years (students in the professional course) are doing, and see their progression.” Some of the students who took the Foundation Kasuri Course this time will be coming back to the school in the fall semester, to continue on to the Applied Kasuri Course. One of the students shared the following thought. “I had a good time. It’s a good thing that you would want to come back. I’m looking forward to coming back this autumn.”

Applications OPEN: International Students Course Autumn 2025

Fragment
Freja Hallin (Sweden)

Applications are now open until 9AM (JST) May 8, 2025 for the International Students Course in Autumn 2025. Please see here for more information.

Foundation Kasuri Course: Oct. 1-22
Applied Kasuri Course: Oct. 27-Dec. 2

A Thank You and About Spring Vacation

The 2024 school year Graduate Exhibition (Mar. 5-9) has ended. Thank you to everyone who was able to visit. You can see photos of the exhibition on our instagram and facebook pages.

Kawashima Textile School will be closed for Spring Vacation from March 20 to March 23, and the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) from March 15 to March 31. We will respond to your emails after April 1. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

Graduate Exhibition 2024

Kawashima Textile School Graduate Exhibition
2025.3.5 (Wed.) -3.9 (Sun.)　10:00 - 17:00 Admission Free
Annex of Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (Kyoto-shi Bijutsukan BEKKAN)
Google Maps

Please check our website for updates.

Winter Vacation

Kawashima Textile School will be closed for Winter Vacation from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5, and the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) from Dec. 21 to Jan. 7. We will respond to your emails after Jan. 8. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

The International Students Course for 2024 Has Ended & Applications for Spring 2025 Open Until Dec. 12

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

Applications OPEN: International Students Course Spring 2025

Sample from the Foundation Kasuri Course
Anneke De hert (Belgium)

Applications are now open until 9AM (JST) Dec. 12, 2024 for the International Students Course in Spring 2025. Please see here for more information.

This time, we are also holding a 5-day Shifu (paper yarn) workshop after the Foundation Kasuri Course. For now, it will only be open to those enrolled in the International Students Course. Any remaining seats will be available to others in mid-January 2025.

Beginners Course: May 21-Jun. 3
Foundation Kasuri Course: Jun. 6-26
Shifu Workshop: Jun. 30-Jul.4

Summer Vacation

Kawashima Textile School will be closed for Summer Vacation from August 9 to 18, and the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) from July 27 to August 19. We will respond to your emails after August 20. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

Applications OPEN: International Students Course Autumn 2024

Zen
Rebecka Lundborg (Sweden)

Applications are now open until 9AM (JST) May 7. Please see here for more information.

Spring Vacation

The 2023 school year Graduate Exhibition (Feb. 28-Mar. 3) has ended. Thank you to everyone who was able to visit. You can see photos of the exhibition on our instagram and facebook pages. Kawashima Textile School will be closed for Spring Vacation from March 28 to March 31, and the teachers' office (where we answer inquiries in English) from March 15 to March 31. We will respond to your emails after April 1. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.

Graduate Exhibition 2023

Kawashima Textile School Graduate Exhibition
2024.2.28 (Wed.) -3.3 (Sun.)　10:00 - 17:00 Admission Free
Annex of Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (Kyoto-shi Bijutsukan BEKKAN)
Google Maps

Please check our website for updates.