Kobe G8 Environment Ministers Meeting "Furoshiki"

During a recent trip to Japan I became very interested in the cultural influence of the Japanese Proverbs. The Japanese Proverbs were written as a simple and easily understood way of impressing the morals and values of traditional Japan onto the masses.

During my time in Japan, I also learnt about a problem facing Japanese Youth. Currently in Japan the loss of traditional culture in Japanese youth is seen as a major problem, therefore the aim of this project was to develop a series of textile patterns that (like the Japanese Proverbs) would help re-excite Japanese youth with the traditions of their heritage.

The result was a series of textile patterns inspired by both traditional Japanese Textiles and Architecture.

Ichi Matsu is the name given to a Japanese checker pattern. Many words in Japan have dual meanings, Ichi also means community and Matsu also means pine tree. So the new Ichimatsu textile pattern became a checker pattern where each checker is a community of pine trees.