Origin of Atelier Shimura

The origin of Atelier Shimura can be traced back to the end of the Taisho era when the Japanese philosopher Yanagi Soetsu (1889-1961), began advocating the Mingei movement (Japanese Folk Art Movement). Mingei, literally meaning “arts of the people”, was a term coined by Yanagi to refer to the hand-crafted work of ordinary people. The movement began in the mid 1920s establishing new manufacturing ideals through emphasizing the beauty of everyday things created by anonymous craftspeople all over Japan. Yanagi’s defining characteristics of mingei crafts continue to inspire us: the beauty of health, beauty of use, beauty of innocence, and the beauty of tradition.

Fukumi Shimura's parents, Motozumi and Toyo Ono had close ties to Muneyoshi Yanagi, Goro Aota, a member of the Kamigamo Folk Craft Association, Tatsuaki Kuroda and Kenkichi Tomimoto who were both craft artists. In order to realize their own form of an ideal education, they invited Noboru Tani, an educator from Tokyo, who worked for Seijo Elementary School. Together they established Showa Gakuen (Showa School) in 1927, which was the prefecture’s one and only private elementary school in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. At Showa Gakuen, creativity and independence were regarded as the most important for students based on the philosophy of the Taisho new education movement. (1889-1961), began advocating the Mingei movement (Japanese Folk Art Movement). Mingei, literally meaning “arts of the people”, was a term coined by Yanagi to refer to the hand-crafted work of ordinary people. The movement began in the mid 1920s establishing new manufacturing ideals through emphasizing the beauty of everyday things created by anonymous craftspeople all over Japan. Yanagi’s defining characteristics of mingei crafts continue to inspire us: the beauty of health, beauty of use, beauty of innocence, and the beauty of tradition.

Fukumi Shimura's parents, Motozumi and Toyo Ono had close ties to Muneyoshi Yanagi, Goro Aota, a member of the Kamigamo Folk Craft Association, Tatsuaki Kuroda and Kenkichi Tomimoto who were both craft artists. In order to realize their own form of an ideal education, they invited Noboru Tani, an educator from Tokyo, who worked for Seijo Elementary School. Together they established Showa Gakuen (Showa School) in 1927, which was the prefecture’s one and only private elementary school in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. At Showa Gakuen, creativity and independence were regarded as the most important for students based on the philosophy of the Taisho new education movement.

Influenced by her mother Toyo, Fukumi Shimura began weaving pongee silk yarn dyed with plants in 1956. Fukumi has made profound studies in the beauty of tsumugi (pongee) kimono, which Japanese peasant women traditionally wove and wore for everyday use, developing her own original style of art. Fukumi's daughter, Yoko, followed in her mother's footsteps to pursue the field of natural dyeing and hand-weaving. In 1989, she established Tsuki Kobo (Atelier Tsuki) with her mother. Since then she has been pursuing the universal beauty of “color” that goes beyond the traditional colors of a kimono, influenced by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Rudolf Steiner's color theories.

The dyeing and weaving art school “Ars Shimura” was established in 2013, led by Fukumi, her daughter Yoko, and her grandson Shoji. Impelled by a sense of impending crisis after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Shimura family wanted to open a space for art education through the practice of natural dyes and hand-weaving. Since the opening of the school, many people who sympathized with this artistic spirit have gathered from all over the country to learn at the school and pursue their own paths after graduating.

In 2016,  the dyeing and weaving brand “Atelier Shimura” was established to provide job opportunities for Ars Shimura graduates. Following the Shimura family’s philosophy rooted in intimate dialogues with nature, Atelier Shimura hopes to continue to embrace the colors of life and values of handcraft to the next generation.