Our new Zusetsu Geisha Dance Tea Towel design
I visited Kyoto in the spring, and the lanes of Gion and the adjacent temple grounds at Kenninji were festooned in drifting, pale pink cherry blossom enhanced by a vivid blue sky.
I visited the geisha dances at the Gion Kaburenjo theatre for the very first time, and it was tremendously exciting walking through the beautiful building to a pre-performance tea ceremony presented by a geisha and maiko.
The maiko was dressed in the most dazzling kimono I have ever seen! It was the most beautiful sky blue, and as she turned, the cherry blossom kanzashi and sparkling mirrors in her dark hair made me gasp.
When I thought about a design for our first ever Zusetsu Tea Towel, these were the images that came to my mind: the maiko in the sky-blue kimono; and the geiko and maiko softly dancing on the theatre stage. Behind them was a stunning painted backdrop which evoked the silver fusuma sliding doors of the imperial court, in a nod to the antecedents of the dance.
Photo from the Spring 2024 Gion Odori programme, showing the silver fusuma backdrop
I placed my maiko on tatami, because I wanted the design to blend into the beautiful teahouses in Kyoto, where I have enjoyed tea ceremony.
I drew the pretty teapot which was placed on my table in a beautiful teahouse near Shimogamo.
The motif on the teapot is like the aoi motif of the shrine.
The aoi pattern makes me think of my favourite novel: The Tale of Genji.
Genji's first wife was named Aoi, and the Aoi Festival for the purification of the Ise Priestess, at Kamigamo Shrine, features in a key scene in the novel.
The beautiful pattern on the turquoise background comes from this sudare screen at Shimogamo Shrine.
I love this ancient shrine.
I had to place a furoshiki-wrapped gift into my design, on to the tatami too - we are a furoshiki-making company, after all!
The tatami also reminds me of the many heavenly cosy sleeps I've enjoyed bundled up in a futon on the floor, in beautiful machiya or temple stays.
To emphasise the sky blue in my design, I drew the kanji for 'Kyoto' in sky blue too.
As a dramatic backdrop I drew a bright vermilion pagoda - it's actually taken from a photo I took very early one morning during Gion Matsuri, when I was walking through Higashiyama because I had jetlag and couldn't sleep!
There's a scene in Yasunari Kawabata's novel The Old Capital, when Chihiro and Shin'nichi gaze across the city from this temple, Kiyomizudera.
We read this novel together for our JanuaryInJapan Bookclub one year, and so it has extra resonance in my design :)
You can see that this tea towel design captures many lovely memories for me. My hope is that it captures many beautiful memories for you too.
It is our first product to be made in England. We thought it would be fun to make an item that was useful in the kitchen, but that looked pretty and brightened up your day!
I've even designed it so that it can fold nicely on your Aga or oven door!
When folded into quarters for gifting, the maiko sits nicely on the top :)
We've asked the wonderful company who make gifts for the UK National Trust to make our Zusetsu Tea Towel, because we know the quality is fantastic! It is made from 100% organic cotton.
We hope it will make a nice, practical gift for the Japan lover in your life :)
Cathy
xx
P.S. You can read our blog all about the spring geisha dances in Kyoto here,
and you can read our blog about Kyoto in spring here.
*I've worked as a professional illustrator for many years,
for many of the major book publishers here in the UK and around the world.*
Your eye for detail and descriptions are so wonderful Cathy!