Dyed in Natural Beauty
The Seiko Presage Classic Series
evolved in answer to the question of
“What is ʻfunctional beauty’ in Japan?”
Conceptualizing a graceful embrace
of the beauty
of Japan,
the series encapsulates
traditional Japanese sensibility
and sophisticated elegance within
a timeless watch powered
by a mechanical movement made in Japan.
Along with the Presage,
the Presage Museum serves
as a platform to showcase
the evolving aesthetic consciousness
in various parts of Japan.
In this second edition,
we aim to explore those
who embrace nature
and inherit the sensibilities of Japan.
Bringing the Spirit of Nature
into the Everyday through Functional Beauty
Atelier Shimura Director Shoji Shimura
In a workshop off an unassuming alley in western Kyoto, Atelier Shimura transforms plant and vegetal
ingredients into silk designs imbued with the spirit of nature that envelop the wearer and highlight
the
concept of “functional beauty.” In upholding the workshop’s ethos of bringing nature and art into the daily
lives of its customers, Shoji Shimura carries forward his grandmother’s
artistic spirit of dyeing.
Japanese Aesthetics Accentuate Functional Beauty
Incorporating the Spirits of Plants and Trees
Using roots, berries, and plants to color threads is a time-honored tradition in many cultures. At Atelier Shimura, the process almost feels like a mystic ritual. As one person there explained, “We are grateful to the plants and their colors. So, in order to receive the life of the plants, we want to bring out their beautiful colors in our products. In the past, people used to think of transferring the spirits of plants and trees into threads in various forms, and they used to say that it was a sort of dream-like prayer describing their love for the life of plants and trees.
According to Atelier Shimura, the Japanese word kusaki-zome, for natural dyeing using plants and vegetables, first gained currency in the early 1900s to distinguish this traditional process from the newer practice of using chemical dyestuffs.
Remaining Conscious of Nature as a Living Being
Mr. Shimura explains that the concept of the Shimura brand originated with his grandmother, Fukumi Shimura. He carries on her artistic spirit of dyeing, focusing on imbuing his work with a spirit of “nature” and “art.”
He continues, “The other thing is, of course, to pass on the technique. We are also engaged in the traditional dyeing method of using silk threads from silkworms, dyeing them with plants and trees, and weaving them by hand. We are conscious of the fact that nature itself is a living being, and as we create our works we often say we are ‘having a conversation with nature.’”
Asked about the idea of functional beauty, Mr. Shimura explains: “Our work is very much about functional beauty, as these items serve our daily life. They have a use both in the sense of being useful in daily life and in the sense of contributing to the spirituality of human beings. In terms of what contributes to the human spirit, an aspect of folk art is the concept of ‘lower familiarity,’ which means that people become familiar with the very idea of familiarity. This is very important in the folk-art movement, and it is also essential to surround oneself with things that enrich one's life.
A Continuum of Colors, Changing with the Seasons
Colors, meanwhile, are on an ever-changing continuum, he explains. “In the world of plant colors, the Japanese sense is of color in transition. It is one of the central understandings of everyday life in Japan that colors are not fixed but rather change over time. The colors of plants vary with the changing seasons, so we also have rotating ingredients, including cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, and elements of other trees that we put together. In this process, the petals of the cherry blossoms do not die. Rather, they color our fabrics. Colors change and become more wistful as time goes by.”
A Subtlety That Evokes Japanese Aesthetics
Asked to comment on the Presage Classic Series, Mr. Shimura says, admiringly, “One way to incorporate classical Japanese culture into today's modern life is not to be overly flamboyant but to make it subtle, with a hint of Japanese culture.”
In the Seiko Presage Classic Series, the color shiroiro (pure white) represents the color of raw silk and also signifies something pure and natural.
Sumiiro (ink black) is also an intriguing color. The color sense of the Edo Period (1603–1867) included 48 shades of brown and 100 shades of gray. Among these infinite shades, one of them is the color of ink black, which was particularly popular among men due to its deep and rich hue.
Araigaki (washed persimmon) evokes a sense of Edo culture. During the Edo Period, the Shogunate enforced edicts against luxurious clothing. Countering this injunction, a culture of intricate designs on the lining emerged among commoners. The color araigaki was used for linings and represents the sophisticated fashion sense of the Edo Period.
Sensai-cha has a green tone with a hint of brown. This color is often used in tea rooms and reflects the Japanese aesthetic, which embraces imperfection and simplicity."
“Another thing,” he continues, “is that watches sit on our skin. They are like our closest partners, and so we treat each other with love and affection. The watch must be treated with love by the wearer, and the
wearer must be treated with love by the watch, so that the watch and the wearer can grow together as long-lasting partners. I think that's in keeping with the idea of functional beauty.”
wearer can grow
together as long-lasting partners. I think that's in keeping with the idea of functional beauty.”
Atelier Shimura director Shoji Shimura
Items with functional beauty are both useful in daily life and contribute to the spirituality of human beings. Like naturally dyed garments, the watches that sit next to our skin are our closest partners, and we must treat each other with love and affection.
At Atelier Shimura, all processes are performed by hand, starting with the dyeing of silk yarn and extending to the weaving of cloth.
Atelier Shimura was founded to pass on the dyeing techniques and artistic spirit of Fukumi Shimura, the grandmother of Shoji Shimura and an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in the field of dyeing. The brand focuses on imbuing its wares with a spirit of both nature and art and uses silk thread dyed with natural dyes from plants. The products are woven by hand.
By incorporating traditional methods, Atelier Shimura values not only their technical aspects but also the spiritual background behind those techniques. Fukumi Shimura had a strong reverence for nature. Rather than treating the gifts of nature as “materials,” she was conscious that nature embodies life. The brand emphasizes an approach of creating while engaging in a dialogue with nature.
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The atelier is working to express the color of washed persimmon. To attain this color, the color is extracted from longstalk holly by collected in the Keihoku area of Kyoto and boiling the branches, leaves, and fruits in hot water.
Things that Express
the Beauty of Japan
×
Seiko Presage Classic Series
Kyoto's Confectionery Culture
A Little Less Perfect—A Sweet Kyoto Tradition
Drawing on a Deep Well of Tradition to
Create Products with a Modern Twist
Yoshikazu Yoshimura, the eighth-generation owner of a Japanese confectioner that has been in business since 1803, explains the key role of sugar in the shop’s historical background. “Previously, sugar was much too expensive for common people to afford, but as the Warring States period of the 15th and 16th centuries gave way to peace during the Edo Period (1603–1867), the culture of the common people developed. Commerce evolved, and money began to flow in various ways. To control the outflow of sugar, which remained precious, the Tokugawa Shogunate restricted the number of confectionery shops that could use sugar.”
He goes on to explain that confectionery culture truly took off in Japan during the Edo period. “Western confectionery entered the popular imagination during the Meiji era (a period of rapid modernization that began in 1868).” Thumbing through an illustrated book of confectioners’ recipes hand-drawn by one of his predecessors more than a century ago, he comments on some of the shop’s traditional products with a modern twist (“slice yokan,” in which traditional bean paste is eaten on toast with butter) and describes a collaborative project to create a bespoke line of sweets for a well-known department store.
Yoshikazu Yoshimura
8th generation family head and representative director of Kameya Yoshinaga
Encapsulating Time in a Classic Package
In describing some traits distinctive to Kyoto’s culture, Mr. Yoshimura reiterates the importance of balance. He aims to expand his company, he notes, but it is important to do so gradually and be respectful of tradition. He also highlights a key aspect of the Japanese aesthetic in describing a collaborative sweets-making effort. “I made a perfectly shaped piece of confectionery. When I showed it to a client’s designer, he commented, ‘It’s beautiful, but too beautiful. Can you make it a little less perfect?’”
Asked to comment on the Presage Classic Series, Mr. Yoshimura interjects a note of surprise as he recalls, “My father used to have a Seiko watch with this sort of bracelet, and when I see it now, it somehow overlaps into my memories of the company. I don’t remember how it was handed down to me, but at one time I had a watch like this—it feels classic.”
With time as the theme, Mr. Yoshimura explains, “When I’m making sweets, the intervals of time are extremely important. However, that very time is the time of the sweets themselves. When I’m making sweets, time seems to vanish in an instant. When I’m completely absorbed in creating my work, I find myself transported to a place beyond time.”
Demonstrating the creativity of his craft, Mr. Yoshimura designed a unique sweet to highlight the colors and essence of each watch in the Presage Classic Series.
Kameya Yoshinaga is a long-established shop that has been in business for over 220 years. It preserves valuable materials such as wooden molds for sweets, handwritten product catalogs, and recipes that have been passed down since the Edo (1603–1867), Meiji (1868–1912), and Taisho (1912–1926) periods.
Things that Express
the Beauty of Japan
×
Seiko Presage Classic Series
Kyoto's Tea Culture
A History Steeped in Tradition
Distinctive Leaves Flavored
by Regional Characteristics
Uji, a small city in Kyoto Prefecture nestled between Japan’s storied cultural centers of Kyoto and Nara, is known for its high-quality tea. A Kyoto prefectural industry website traces the origins of tea in Uji back to the 13th century. Shogo Nakamura, the proprietor of Nakamura Tokichi Honten, a tea shop with a history dating back to 1854, explains that while tea is grown in various parts of Japan, each area produces a distinct type and flavor of tea. Kyoto, which is located at a higher altitude and is one of Japan’s coldest tea-producing regions, excels at growing the tea used to make matcha (powdered green tea) and gyokuro (sweet green tea). The highest grades of Japanese tea used in matcha can only be found in the Uji area.
Because of the cold, Mr. Nakamura continues, in years gone by tea farmers used straw to help block out the sunlight and regulate the pace at which young tea plants grew. However, in Japan’s Muromachi Period (1336–1573), such a method of covering and cultivation was permitted only in the Kyoto area, and the people who enjoyed its bounty were mainly high-ranking government officials and others at the top of Japan’s social strata.
Shogo Nakamura
7th generation representative director of Nakamura Tokichi Honten
A Sprinkling of Innovation to Ensure Tradition is Ever-Evolving
Describing some of the changes the industry faces, Mr. Nakamura notes the close connection of the tea business to seasonal weather. “Fluctuations in precipitation or the average temperature in March can cause the size of the leaves to be completely different. This year, the average temperature in July was very high. While high summer temperatures are not altogether uncommon, if they are too high, the leaves will burn and the damage caused by the burning will remain until the next year.” At the same time, Mr. Nakamura counsels patience and a focus on the essence of his business, as well as innovation. “Our job is not just to sell as many tea leaves as possible. We want to create something new and show people what our world is all about. I hope to broaden our scope and surprise people with something they can enjoy.” One example of such innovation is the astounding concoctions of delicate tea-based sweets at the Nakamura Tokichi Honten.
While the centuries of tradition might feel weighty to some, Mr. Nakamura wears this burden lightly. “I grew up steeped in this tradition,” he explains, “so rather than something in a museum, to me tradition is ever-evolving.”
Underpinning the sense of tradition, Mr. Nakamura recognizes some strong cultural nuances as being uniquely Japanese. In particular, he believes the Japanese aesthetic sensibility has a strong sense of color. In this regard, he feels a particular affinity with the depth of the sensaicha color in the Presage Classic Series. “I don’t understand exactly how it was made,” he comments, “but it seems the base was dyed green and then brown was added to the main body color.”
Incorporating traditional culture into our lifestyles through color is one way to innovate from tradition and evoke a new allure.
