One of Tokyo Dome's most attended annual attractions might come as a surprise to some. Aside from being home to baseball games and big-name concerts, the huge stadium also hosts a number of fairs, including the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival — which is the largest of its kind.
Over the course of seven days in late January, some 250,000 quilters descended upon Tokyo Dome for the festival of textiles and stitching. Co-organized by NHK this year, the fair explored the influence of "Little House on the Prairie," the 1970s American television series based on the children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The TV show's prominent display of pioneer-era American quilts inspired widespread interest in the craft not only throughout the U.S. but also overseas.
In addition to commissioning some of Japan's most prominent quilters to create works inspired by the show, the event exhibited antique quilts that were made by Wilder herself, as well as an extensive array of historical American quilts owned by the Poos Collection in Kansas. Yet despite the prominent American theme, the festival was, as it is always, an unparalleled exploration of the craft as it is unique to Japan — providing insight on the ways in which Japanese traditional textile arts have been perpetuated and reinvented through the Western medium of quilting.