Gallery Tour Series: Spotlight on KUMIHIMO

This event is fully booked

Take a closer look at Japan House London’s exhibition Kumihimo: Japanese Silk Braiding by Domyo with a series of guided tours celebrating its opening weekend. Each tour is led by Japan House London Programming Director Simon Wright alongside a different special guest from Japan. These include Dōmyō Kiichirō, 10th-generation President of Domyo, a company which has been making braided silk cord by hand since 1652 CE, exhibition curator and leading Japanese art writer Hashimoto Mari, and exhibition designer, the architect Mitsui Rei.

The tours reveal behind-the-scenes insight into the making of Japan House London’s exhibition and shed new light on its story of the past, present and possible futures of kumihimo, an intricate, decorative type of Japanese cord, braided from hand-dyed silk threads, that has been made in Japan for more than 1,300 years.

Booking tickets

Please choose a date below and click on the button to book your free ticket. 

Thursday 23 February 2023, 15:00

Tour features exhibition producer Dōmyō Kiichirō, President of Domyo 

Fully booked.

Friday 24 February 2023, 15:00

Tour features exhibition curator Hashimoto Mari 

Fully booked.

Saturday 25 February 2023, 15:00

Tour features exhibition designer Mitsui Rei 

Fully booked.

Sunday 26 February 2023, 15:00

Tour features exhibition producer Dōmyō Kiichirō, President of Domyo 

Fully booked.

Each tour will last approximately 45 minutes and will begin in front of the Gallery on Japan House London's Lower Ground Floor promptly at the start time.

The exhibition Kumihimo: Japanese Silk Braiding by Domyo is on display in the Gallery at Japan House London from 23 February until 11 June 2023.

About the Tour Leaders

Dōmyō Kiichirō

Dōmyō Kiichirō was born in Tokyo in 1978. After graduating from university with a degree in architecture, in 2006 he established Dōmyō Kiichirō Architects Office where he worked on designs for residences, shops and businesses. In 2012 he was appointed Representative Director of Domyo Co., Ltd. While exploring new possibilities of kumihimo as a 3D structure, he researches and recreates historical kumihimo that can be found in various locations around Japan. Alongside designing and manufacturing obijime for kimono, in 2015 he founded DOMYO, a department specializing in kumihimo for western-style apparel.

Hashimoto Mari

Hashimoto Mari is a writer and editor who specializes in Japanese arts. She is the vice-chairperson of EISEI BUNKO, a public interest incorporated foundation and a visiting professor at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology. With articles in newspapers and magazines, an arts show on NHK, and ‘Niconico Art Museum’ videos on Niconico (Dwango’s video-sharing platform), she has established a reputation for explaining Japanese arts in a fun and easy-to-understand way. Recent publications include Decorating Japan (Iwanami Shoten), Following Japanese History with Art (three volumes) (Chōbunsha), Appreciating Japanese arts in Kyoto – Kyoto National Museum (Shūeisha Creative), Kawari Kabuto: A Cool Design from the Sengoku Period (Shinchōsha). In addition, she co-wrote SHUNGART and 100% Hokusai! (both from Shōgakukan) and edited A Complete Collection of Japanese Art (Volume 20) (Shōgakukan). 

Mitsui Rei

Mitsui Rei explores architectural theory within Japanese architecture, in spaces such as the tearoom, and practices his own architectural philosophy in his work as a designer. Born in 1983 in Aichi Prefecture, he graduated from the Department of Architecture in the School of Engineering at Tokyo University, where he also completed a master’s in Japanese Architectural History. After graduation he worked at Ban Shigeru Architects, before establishing Mitsui Rei Architects in 2015. Mitsui’s prominent works include the tea house ‘SEIFU-AN’ and ‘Yanagikōji South Corner’. He was awarded the winning prize in the U-35 / Under 35 Architects exhibition 2017 for his work ‘Renovation of "KANBAN-style" architecture, Nihonbashi’ (2015). He was also awarded the Residential Architecture Prize 2021 for his work ‘Library in the Forest’, a house in Zushi.