It was in 1993 that Ms. Osawa held a solo exhibition in Paris, the capital of art. She titled it "The Encounter of Threads."
However, she did not plan or prepare it herself; the stage was set, and she simply stepped onto it.
The invitation to "hold a solo exhibition in Paris" came from Kihachiro Kawaguchi (now deceased), then-president of Pearl Yacht, a major embroidery thread manufacturer. It was around 1989.
"We will provide sponsors. We will handle all the preparations—what do you think?"
From a young age, Ms. Osawa had dyed the threads she used for her embroidery herself. But as her orders increased and she became busy with work, she found it difficult to find the time to dye them. Eventually, in her late 20s, she began using commercial embroidery threads. The ones she picked up then were from the rapidly growing Pearl Yacht brand.
Ms. Osawa first met President Kawaguchi over a decade later at an exhibition for embroidery materials held in Tokyo. Upon learning that Ms. Osawa was attending, President Kawaguchi came to greet her. When she told him during their conversation that she used Pearl Yacht threads, his eyes lit up and he said,
"It is an honor to have someone like you use our threads."
Since then, they had more opportunities to dine together, and their relationship deepened as she helped develop embroidery threads and assisted in the establishment of the youth division of the Tokyo Embroidery Cooperative Association at the President's request. But a solo exhibition in Paris?
She had visited Paris once before. She had toured a fabric museum in the suburbs and made daily visits to the Louvre. She had met François Lesage, known as a master of embroidery, and was even shown his studio and workroom—places he had never shown to outsiders—and they spoke as friends. This was born from their shared work on Emmanuel Khan’s prêt-à-porter collection.
"I see, Paris. I haven't seen enough of the Louvre yet, and since they are the ones asking, I don't feel much responsibility—so, why not?"
A solo exhibition in Paris. For those living in the world of art and fashion, this would likely be a source of overwhelming joy. But for Ms. Osawa, there was no sense of being overly serious.
The sponsors were Pearl Yacht, Japan Airlines, and the major European embroidery thread company, DMC of France. The title "The Encounter of Threads" was chosen to exhibit embroidery paintings created using both Japanese threads from Pearl Yacht and European threads from DMC.
According to Ms. Osawa, Among the many embroidery threads DMC offers, their cotton threads are exceptional. Their matte color tone has a unique charm. While filling an entire canvas with them can feel heavy, using them in key areas of a landscape painting adds depth. Ms. Osawa began by creating five or six pieces. Once finished, she sent about 20 pieces to Paris, including works she had previously completed.
Though she had accepted the invitation lightheartedly, as her trip to France approached, she began to think about various things.
"It is Paris, after all. Since I’m going from Japan, I really should wear a kimono to the opening party. I packed my best houmongi (visiting kimono) and obi (sash) into my trunk and asked my niece, who is a beautician, to come with me. I needed someone to help me get dressed."
The venue was the Japan Airlines building on the Champs-Élysées. On the first day, when she arrived at the venue after getting dressed, about 50 guests were already there: designers, artists, textile experts, and newspaper reporters. She enjoyed conversing with them through an interpreter and answering many questions…
However, despite all the preparation, she did not go near the venue from the following day onward.
"As for my work, it's better for people to just look at it freely than for me to explain this and that. Besides, it’s Paris! There were so many things I wanted to see; I didn’t have time to be at my own exhibition venue."
Things she wanted to see—she visited the Louvre repeatedly.
"I had the Mona Lisa all to myself, you know."
Many in the art world brag about their time in Paris.
"When I was in Paris…"
They breathe the air of Paris, and for some reason, it becomes a title.
But for Ms. Osawa, the trip to Paris was nothing more than,
"Ah, that job is done."
Her takeaway was simply,
"It's a city with genuine works of art. I was surprised to see that even the manhole covers were beautifully designed."
As I wrote before, she was selected as a "Modern Master Craftsman" the following year. Ms. Osawa herself may not have been conscious of it, but perhaps those around her were overly aware of her solo exhibition in Paris. The world, for some reason, seems to be built that way.
In 2002, the "Kiyomi Osawa Embroidery Exhibition" was held in the former governor's office of the old Gunma Prefectural Government building. It was the first time the prefecture had sponsored her solo exhibition, and the first time such an exhibition had been held in the former governor's office. There were group tours that arrived by chartered bus. Many people at the venue told Ms. Osawa that they had traveled directly from Haneda Airport to the Gunma Prefectural Office. Everything about it was unprecedented.
Yet, that is not where Ms. Osawa's pride lies.
Ms. Osawa's pride lies in the easels that supported her works at the exhibition venue. The audience may not have noticed, but they were all made by students of the Gunma Prefecture SME Technical Training Seminar, where Ms. Osawa had served as an instructor for five years, specifically because they knew about her prefecture-sponsored solo exhibition.
"Somehow, they all came together to support me. It made me so happy…"
Ms. Osawa still cherishes and uses those easels to this day.
Kiyomi Osawa Gallery
This time as well, please enjoy Ms. Osawa's Buddhist paintings. There are no titles for these five pieces.
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