Inspirations
Return to Kyoto
A journey of experience through Komorebi Collection.
The story of a day spent in a chashitsu, a traditional Japanese tea house, transports us to an ethereal dimension made of light and shadow. The words lead us through Japanese atmospheres, minimalist architecture and the beauty of nature, revealing the Washi papermaking technique, the art of flower arranging and of giving new life to objects and fabrics.
Returning to Kyoto after years away, to the old Sumiya tea house in the history-rich district of Shimabara, is a deeply moving experience. It still echoes with the voices of the artists and writers who gathered there in the past, and with the mysterious haiku of the local poets. Entering these 17th-century rooms means being surrounded by the refined Japanese aesthetic, the minimalism of the spaces, the natural tones of wood and tatami, while outside, in the city, the hanami paints the cherry trees pink.
Arriving early in the morning, I am amazed by the secret magic of the shadows traced by the light on the walls. Because, in the words of architect Louis Kahn, “The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building”.
I trace my fingers over a porcelain bowl brought back to life through the precious art of Kintsugi. Because in Japan you discover beauty in the imperfection of broken objects put back together with delicate seams of gold or silver, transformed into decoration. Or in the famed Boro fabrics, displaying the elegance of exquisite mending.
While the master of the tea ceremony prepares the long and intricate ritual, I admire two fresh ikebana flower arrangements. Outside, through the shōji, the traditional rice-paper sliding walls, I glimpse the silhouettes spread over the neat zen garden, lit by komorebi, or “sunlight filtered through trees”.
A vision of tranquillity and energy which brings a new dimension to the space and time of this chashitsu.
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