Customer Reviews

The Fine Art of Kimono Embroidery

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was ambivalent about how many stars to give this book. If what you're looking for is a book full of beautiful pictures of beautiful kimonos and obi with breathtaking finished embroidery done by a master embroiderer, then I imagine this book is a five star book. But that's not what I was looking for.

I was looking for a book that offered Japanese embroidery designs and motifs that I could use in my own hand embroidery. What I typed into Amazon's search engine was "Japanese embroidery designs" and this book came up. The "Search Inside" feature for the book offers pictures that could and did lead me to think that I would find patterns for what I was looking at, and the book's title doesn't dissuade one from thinking that.

This is a coffee table book, showcasing, with excellent photography, the extraordinary talents of Shizuka Kusano. I wrote this review so that others who might be looking for designs, motifs, or patterns might not also be disappointed by buying a book that is not what they expected it to be.

Any with more than a light interest in Japanese embroidery will readily recognize the author's name, for Shizuka Kusano is one of Japan's premiere textile artists, and her 'canvases' are the kimono, obi, and tapestries. Dozens of her works are featured in a color guide that also covers the techniques used on each of her pieces. Kusano's essay on how she began in and developed her talents includes a history of embroidery in Japan. The pairing of history, art, and how-to will make FINE ART OF KIMONO EMBROIDERY a recommendation for not only art and needlework libraries, but for general-interest collections as well.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

It is not a book to teach you embroidery, but the beautiful photos will give you inspiration....

You don't need to be a textile expert or an art historian to appreciate this book. The intricacies of the embroidery, the tale behind the image, and the supreme attention to detail are demonstrated extremely well through the photography and minimal text. As with many other crafts, this type of embroidery is bound to become a lost art and should not be forgotten when machines take over.

First off: this is NOT a how-to book.

This book is a photo collection of works done by a master of Japanese Embroidery. The photos provide high quality, stunningly clear examples of her works. I find the examples to be a great reference and that they should serve as inspiration.

This is in short a pretty 'art book' full of AMAZING Embroidery. Def something to have for your coffee table or bookself if you enjoy traditional Japanese culture or just art.

The examples of embroidery are beautiful to look at and can be applied to other products. Looking at these examples, one realizes that the teaching is important but the main requirements to accomplish the needlework are patience and focus. I'm not a pro, but I'll certainly have a go at it. This is for anyone who loves needlework of any kind.

The information is essential to the museum collection I manage...the superb photography is the typically high quality expected of Japanese productions...a wonderful investment.