"Tsugaru Sakiori Works Exhibition Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter - Shape Your Thoughts" was held on March 11th and 12th at the Aomori Museum of Art (Yasuda, Aomori City) Community Gallery.

Sakiori is a weaving technique that has been handed down since the Edo period. In Aomori, there are Nanbu Sakiori and Tsugaru Sakiori, each with different uses and techniques. Sakiori is also called "Sakuri" in Tsugaru dialect.

Sponsored by "Tsugaru Sakiori Sakurikai", Sakiori Koubou Textile Studio Murakami offers sakiori classes in Aomori and Hokkaido. In the exhibition, about 20 students in the classroom produced tapestries expressed in free colors and designs under the theme of "spring, summer, autumn and winter," and exhibited bags and clothes.

Ms. Asako Murakami, the owner of the same studio, is a traditional Tsugaru sakiori craftsman who has been making sakiori for 45 years since 1978 (Showa 53). In 2005, sakiori was originally used as work clothes for fishermen in Tsugaru. Murakami works to popularize Tsugaru Sakiori through exhibitions and hands-on events, while creating works that match modern life.

Makiko Tanabe, a resident of Aomori City, who participated in the exhibition, said, "I made a work of spring. I designed and produced cherry blossoms on a black background with the image of cherry blossoms at night. smiled. Masako Togawa, who lives in Aomori City, said, "It's been more than 20 years since I started making sakiori. With the theme of 'enjoying autumn,' I used red silk (a silk fabric dyed red with safflower) with subtly different colors to create a gradation. It took me about a month to make it little by little,” he said with a smile.

A man in his 60s who came from Hirosaki with his wife to see the works said, "It was fun to see each artist using different methods and weaving methods." Some of the visitors told us that they usually decorate the sakiori tapestry, or incorporate sakiori into bags and coasters.

Mr. Murakami said, "It may have been difficult to create works that fit the theme, but the results were a work in which you could feel the season through the power of expression of each. I hope you will look forward to next year as well."