KOGIN-ZASHI – Lecture and Workshop by Mei Kazama ’16

Lecture and Workshop by Mei Kazama

KOGIN-ZASHI: A Traditional Embroidery Technique and Art Form from Northern Japan

During the Edo period, farmers in Tsugaru, northern Japan, were only permitted to wear clothes made of hemp. To endure the region’s harsh and prolonged winters, they stitched cotton threads onto the hemp fabric to provide extra warmth and reinforcement. This practice eventually led to the development of “Tsugaru kogin-zashi.”

Mei Kazama is an artist from New York City.  Their work investigates the spectral as a
space of simultaneous grief and possibility.  They have exhibited in various spaces in
the US and Japan, including David Castillo Gallery, Yossi Milo Gallery, The Clemente,
and Fuyumedo Gallery.  Their research on Japanese art forms has been supported by
the Beinecke Graduate Research Fellowship, Yale University Alice Kimball English
Travel Fellowship, Williams College Linen Grant, and Robert G. Wilmers Jr. 1990
Memorial Travel Fellowship.  They are a 2016 Williams College alumni and received
their MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University.

Sponsored by the Japanese Program, Department of Asian Languages, Literatures and
Cultures

SPACE IS LIMITED.  Please sign up in advance here.
For questions, email kyamamot@williams.edu.