Tokyo department store Matsuya Ginza presents an exhibition of some 140 works spanning the four-decade career of one of Japan's most well-known embroidery artists, Shizuka Kusano.
It was in 1969 that Kusano, seeking a hobby she could combine with her child-rearing duties, first took up French embroidery. Two years later, she started Japanese-style embroidery, using silk to add decorations to her own kimono. By the late 1980s, she had achieved such renown that she was appearing on national television programs introducing the joys of the art.
Kusano likes to say that "Japanese embroidery is an art that expresses the patterns of the heart"; Dec. 30-Jan. 20.
Matsuya Ginza, Exhibition Hall; 3-6-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Ginza Stn. 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. ¥1,000. Closed Jan. 1. 03-3567-1211; www.matsuya.com/m_ginza
