Books
Wada, Y.I. Memory on Cloth: Shibori Now, Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002.
Stevens, R., Wada, Y., ed. The Kimono Inspiration: Art and Art to Wear in America, Washington, D.C.: Pomegranate Communications, 1996. [Co-curated exhibition of same title] [Part three: Toward an American Understanding of the Kimono pp.128-160]. view pdf.
Wada, Y.I. “Blossoms Unveiled.” Shibori II: Himetaru Hana, Kyoto: Unsodo Co. Ltd., 1990. [Preface in Japanese and English]
Wada, Y.I., Rice, M. and Barton, J. Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing, Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1983.
Wada, Y.I. & Ritch, D. Ikat: An Introduction, Berkeley: Kasuri Dyeworks, 1973. [Reprinted Australia: Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education, 1982]. view pdf
Forewords
BY YOSHIKO I. WADA
Wada, Y.I. Foreword. The Art and Science of Natural Dye: Principles, Experiments and Results, by Joy Boutrup and Catharine Ellis. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2018. view pdf
FOR YOSHIKO I. WADA
Larsen, Jack. Foreword. Memory on Cloth: Shibori Now, by Wada, Y.I. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002, pp 7.
Papers, Journals, Catalogues, Symposium Proceedings, and Encyclopedia
Wada, Y.I. “Passion Flower: A Passion for Petals and Insects.” Selvedge, issue. 81, London, UK: Selvedge, Ltd., 2018, pp. 30-33. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Living National Treasures: Textile and Garment Artists.” Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: East Asia. Ed. John E. Vollmer. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2010. 390–397. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 09 Aug. 2017. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Arimatsu To Africa: Shibori TextilesDeveloped For African Trade In 1948-49.” Textile Society Of America, Crosscurrents: Land, Labor, And The Port: Textile Society Of America’s 15th Biennial Symposium, 2016. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Japanese Boro: A New Way to See Beauty.”
VÄV Magazine, Scandinavian Weaving Magazine, Nr. 4, 2016 Linköping, SWEDEN. view pdf
Research Papers presented at the Textile Society of America’s Biennial Symposia / 2016, 2010, 2008, 2004, 2002, 1998, 1994. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Boro – The Mottainai Essence.” Ikebana International, vol. 56, iss. 1, publication no. 150, Tokyo, Japan: Ikebana International, 2011-2012, pp. 64-72. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Fiber, Texture and Light: Contemporary Japanese Textile Design.” Ikebana International, vol. 55, iss. 2, publication no. 148, Tokyo, Japan: Ikebana International, 2010-2011, pp. 13-24. view pdf
Jiang, K., ed. “Kimono Mode and Marketing: Popular Textiles for Women in Early Twentieth Century Japan.” Research Journal of Textile and Apparel: Integration of Fashion and Textile Design with Materials and Technology, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2011.
“THE SOU·SOU IMPULSE: Using the Traditional Japanese Design of Arimatsu Narumi Shibori, SUO·SUO Creates Garments with a Youthful Flair, Locally.” FiberARTS, Summer, CO, U.S.: Interweave Press, 2008, pp. 38-39. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “In a Word: The Woman Behind the Quilts.” Selvedge, iss.17, London, UK: Selvedge, Ltd., 2007, pp. 36-39. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Synthesizing Nature and Technology Towards a Universal Visual Syntax,” Essay for Exhibition of Keiko Amenomori-Schmeisser, With the Flow, Against the Grain, Canberra, Australia: Craft ACT: Craft & Design Centre, 2003. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Contemplative Geometry: Kay Sekimachi’s Poetic Expressions in the Essential Language of Line, Surface and Dimensional Form.” Portfolio Collection Kay Sekimachi, England, UK: Telos Art Publishing, 2003. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “Shell Arrangements by Kay Sekimachi.” Exhibition entitled Intimate Views: the Works of Kay Sekimachi, CA, U.S.: San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, 2000. view pdf
Wada, Y.I. “History of Japanese Shibori,” Third International Shibori Symposium: Chile catalogue, U.S.: World Shibori Network, 1999.
Wada, Y.I. “The Development of Contemporary Shibori,” Third International Shibori Symposium Catalogue: Chile, U.S.: World Shibori Network, 1999.
Wada, Y.I. “Textiles and Kimonos.” Japanese Design: A Survey Since 1950, Fischer, F. and Heisinger, K.B., PA, U.S.: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1994, pp. 34-36. [catalogue for exhibition of which I was curator]
Wada, Y.I. “Craft to Art: Contemporary Work in Indigo.” Indigo/Leven in een kleur, Netherlands: Indigo Foundation Amsterdam, 1985.
Wada, Y.I. “Indigo in Japan,” Indigo/Leven in een kleur, Netherlands: Indigo Foundation Amsterdam, 1985.
Kimono East/West, catalogue for exhibition in conjunction with Surface Design Association Conference, Gaitlinburg, TN: Arrowmont School of Crafts, 1981.
Essays and Articles
ABOUT YOSHIKO I. WADA
Smith Arney, S. “In Review Global Threads-Arney“,Surface Design Association Magazine, Albuquerque, NM, U.S.: Surface Design Association Magazine, 2015
Shapiro, B. “The Ever-widening Vision of Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada,” Surface Design Association Magazine, Albuquerque, NM, U.S.: Surface Design Association Magazine, 2015
Logan, C. “Talk explores birth, significance of affordable meisen kimonos,” Omaha World-Herald, 20 Mar, 2015.
Scheufftan, Kim. “Yoshiko Wada: Dimensional Transformation“. By Kim Schuefftan. ANA Wingspan Magazine, Tokyo, Japan: All Nippon Airways CO., LTD., Sept. 2014.
Current Projects
Meisen
exhibition. essays. book forthcoming.
Research conducted with Masanao Arai (Researcher, Textile Industry Research Institute of Gunma Prefecture) and Kazuo Mutoh (Founder, Kiryu Orijuku Textile Archive and Study Center)
Meisen: Popular Textiles for Women in the First Half of Twentieth Century Japan. A study of meisen — warp or weft patterned silk or synthetic cloth patterned with bright colors and bold designs. The conspicuously popular aesthetic of this textile, considered “moderne” or “mod,” set meisen designs apart from the rest of Japanese traditional textiles, generally known for their sophistication and subtlety, in a way that puzzles today’s viewers, both Japanese and Western.
Boro – Ragged Beauty
exhibition. essays. dvd. book forthcoming.
video clip of yoshiko and kim schuefftan
“boro“: a Japanese term referring to the state of objects that have been used, broken, or worn to tatters, then extensively repaired and used beyond their expected life cycle.
A study of boro from a broad perspective to a narrower, more intimate view — social and cultural behaviors eg social stratification, agriculture, economy, and trade, to personal values and relationships. A study in material culture; in the economy of material; and a study of notions of imperfect beauty.
Wada, Y.I. “Ragged Beauty: Repair and Reuse, Past and Present.” An essay and curation for Museum of Craft and Folk Art, Vol.20, no.2, CA, U.S.: MOCFA, 2004. view pdf