Today was freezing! It didn’t get above 2 degrees! Glad I brought my possum merino glove, socks, hat, jersey I needed all of it today.

This morning we headed off to the Heianjingu Shrine.

This was a kumquat tree with its winter cover.

Then we visited the Museum of Traditional Crafts. They put on a show for us with the director giving a speech and explaining about the regional crafts which are now revered and they are elevating the skills with government grants and special quality marks. It was amazing how many of the revered skills were textile based. They had some artisans come in and give us demonstrations, and some were able to make things.

We then had some free time to wander around and do some shopping. The two photos below are of a needle shop. It was so small you could only fit 4 people in it at a time, so beautiful he sold only needs and pins and small travelling needlework kits.

Then we were off to a Yuzen painting workshop, this was painting fabric with stencils, not my favourite workshop of all the ones we have done so far, but that was only because the stencils I chose were not great and the colours were very bright.

Next door there was a fabric painting workshop where men were painting five metre lengths for obi.

Loved their brushes

Most of the textile industries we have been to are in peoples homes – we don’t get to see where they live but the premises are either beside or under their houses. They all have little zen gardens, some of them as small as 2 square metres. You would not have any idea of what’s around, they are tucked down little alleys and no signage outside. The rooms we have been into don’t have windows out onto the street, the windows that face the street are covered with paper screens and the only windows with clear glass face into their zen garden, none of their windows face neighbours etc, they are covered with the screens so let in light but no view.