Support Kazuko Sato’s visit to the UK

Aim

The aim is to cover the costs of the visit which include flights for Kazuko Sato and her interpreter and their travel and living expenses.

Endangered Japanese Paper Textiles

When your 91 year old former textiles teacher in Japan expresses a desire to come to the UK to share her knowledge and skills about a process you are equally passionate about, what do you do?....You make it a reality!  With two organisations hosting events during her two week stay, but insufficient time for formal grant applications now is the time to crowd fund and make Kazuko Sato’s dream a reality.

I am looking to raise 6K to pay for flights for Kazuko Satō and her translator/chaperone, Migiwa, and their travel and living costs, on this Kazuko's first ever visit to the UK. Migiwa's specialist translation will unlock Kazuko's expertise and experience to new audiences.

Kazuko Satō's life story is fascinating and her knowledge inspiring. You don’t need to be a textile enthusiast to appreciate the rich history and personal stories behind the paper textiles she will introduce. There are three events during her visit to the UK, any of which you can participate in.

• Saturday 01 June 2 - 4pm: Welcome event at Bow Arts Studio, Old Manor Park Library, London E12 5JY.
  
  
• Monday 03 June, 2 - 4pm: Lecture hosted by the Endangered Material Knowledge Project (EMKP) at the Stevenson Lecture Theatre, British Museum, London WC1B 3DG. Booking details to follow.
  
  
• Saturday 08 June, 1.30 - 5.30pm: Talk and demonstration including afternoon tea, hosted by the Textile Society, The Clore Learning Space, Garden Museum SE1 7LB.                                                                                                                              
• What is Shifu and why is her visit important?                                                        Shifu, woven paper cloth, is famously associated with Shiroishi, a city 36 km south of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The skills to make shifu, and kamiko, (clothes fashioned from treated sheets of paper) once widely worn are in danger of being forgotten. Kazuko Satō is one of only a handful of craftspeople in Japan keeping this prized textile tradition alive. 
  She has personal memories of Sōetsu Yanagi, a key figure in the Mingei Japanese Folk Craft Movement and her visit happily coincides with the exhibition ‘Art without Heroes, Mingei' at the William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, London - Look out for shifu hiding there too!   Kazuko wants to pass on her knowledge and skills and is delighted that there is interest in the UK and internationally for these often overlooked but stunning textiles.    

This project successfully funded on 15th June 2024