Izumi and Reiko took the Shonan Ladies to Mr. Haruki's charming studio a few doors down from Rin Rin Chinese restaurant. Mr. Haruki designs and paints fabric that is stitched into one-of-a-kind $40,000 kimono. He spends three years on each of his creations so this is not a terribly lucrative craft but Haruki-san does not seem to regret his career choice. On the contrary, he struck me as a walking advertisement for one of the most thought-provoking books I've read this year, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. How much more satisfying it must be to shepherd a project from idea to finished product than to be a replaceable-every-two-years cog in the U.S. military machine.
Each kimono panel features Haruki's original drawings. He brought out a box of drawings used on previous kimono and let each of us select one as a memento of our visit. Some favored sketches of bamboo, plum branches, camellias, onions, and peonies but I chose irises to remind me of both my day at Haruki's studio and my day with Maeve and Jen at Shomyo-ji. Efficiently sentimental, if I do say so myself.
After Haruki completes his drawings and sketches them on a paper pattern, he paints them on silk panels coated with a paste of mashed soy beans that heightens the effect of the dye. There's really no way to ignore the amazing versatility of soy beans in this part of the world.
Upstairs, Meagan tried on a kimono-in-process and we met the adorable Mrs. Haruki who was sporting a jaunty beige beret and a handknit checkerboard vest similar to her husband's. Between Haruki's white hair - a rare sight in Japan - and that beret, I nearly drowned in a tsunami of nostalgia. If you're wondering why, please contact my prematurely grey brother and the third of his adoring goddaughters. I'm much too choked up right now to attempt an explanation.
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