Hagi city, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is the home town fo Kiku Totsuka, founder of Totsuka Embroidery. This place is special to me as I was evacuated there during the war. Choshu, the feudal name of Yamaguchi Prefecture, has a feudalistic image, having given rise to many spirited activists and politicians during the time of the late Edo era and Meiji Restorarion. However, there is another facet to the area, that of strong women. While the men were away, the women built a strong fortress to protect their homeland.
I created this work by the request of the city of Hagi. I incorporated noted places and scenes, and symbolized the drama of the dawning of a new era with a morning glow, and represented with stout stitching the strong but kind hearts of Choshu women.
The year this work was completed was the same year the well-known Xavier Church was destroyed by fire. I will always remember that at every “My Hometown, Yamaguchi” exhibition that our works were displayed at, we collected donations for the rebuilding of the church.
山口県萩市は戸塚刺しゅうの創始者戸塚きくのふるさとです。私にとっても戦争中に疎開していたことがありましたから、思い入れのある土地です。幕末から明治維新にかけて多くの志士や政治家を生みだしたここ長州は封建的なイメージがありますが、実は外に出ていた男性たちにかわり、力を合わせて強固な要塞を造り上げ、郷土を防衛していた頼もしい女性たちがいたお国柄。この作品は萩市からのご要望も取り入れながら制作した作品ですが、萩の代名詞となる風物に加え、日本の夜明けという激動の時代を象徴する朝焼けの色や、強くて優しい長州女性の心模様をかっちりとしたステッチで表現してみました。また、この作品を発表した年に有名なザビエル教会が火災に遭うという出来事があり、「ふるさと山口」を出品する展示会毎に再建のための寄付集めをさせていただいたことも忘れられない思い出です。
【英訳】
Hagi city, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is the home town fo Kiku Totsuka, founder of Totsuka Embroidery. This place is special to me as I was evacuated there during the war. Choshu, the feudal name of Yamaguchi Prefecture, has a feudalistic image, having given rise to many spirited activists and politicians during the time of the late Edo era and Meiji Restorarion. However, there is another facet to the area, that of strong women. While the men were away, the women built a strong fortress to protect their homeland.
I created this work by the request of the city of Hagi. I incorporated noted places and scenes, and symbolized the drama of the dawning of a new era with a morning glow, and represented with stout stitching the strong but kind hearts of Choshu women.
The year this work was completed was the same year the well-known Xavier Church was destroyed by fire. I will always remember that at every “My Hometown, Yamaguchi” exhibition that our works were displayed at, we collected donations for the rebuilding of the church.
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