The rich expressionism of traditional embroidery, which has been continuously kept among the hilltribe who had caught in a civil war and lost their home. Their picture books, woven with brightly colored threads, tell about the folkstories which have been brought down orally. These fantastic tapestries are real records of this preliterate tribe.
The Hmong people, also known as the Miao, are a minority tribe who live in mountainous areas. They have been emigrating in various places of China since B.C. They even emigrated in the mountains of Vietnam and Laos, but most of them lost their home as a consequence of Laotian power struggle during the Vietnam war.
Treasuring old traditional culture, the Hmong people use embroidery as a means of communication rather than writing. Even today, although the Hmong have started to write their language in Roman letters, their children learn how to use thread and needle when they are small.
With the support of Shanti Volunteer Association(SVA), the Hmong Children, who escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand, started to do embroidery of their orally-told folkstories with bright and colorful threads.
This time, we are going to exhibit many of their colorful and characteristic picture books filled with their humorously shaped images. Also on view are tapestries illustrating their simple ordinary lives in nature, the civil war which destroyed their peace, as well as the days of their escape.
We also sell beautiful handcrafted works by the Hmong people. They have been imported by the SVA, who is promoting fair trade.
2 minutes walk from exit A1 at Bakuro-Yokoyama Station on the Shinjuku line, 2 minutes walk from West exit 2 at Bakurocho Station, 6 minutes walk from Higashi Nihonbashi Station on the Asakusa line.
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