ABOUT|KONDAYAGENBEI｜KYOTO,Japan

HISTORY

1738年: The first-generation Yashiro Shōgorō establishes the Minami Yashiro Kondaya in the Nishijin textile district following the Great Nishijin Fire of 1730
1868年: The sixth-generation Yashiro Shōgorō passes on the seventh-generation company headship to Yamaguchi Genbey from the Matsuo district of Kyoto. He renames the company Kondaya Genbey. He is known in Nishijin as the king of obi wholesalers
1905年: The company moves its headquarters to its current location on Muromachi-dōri Sanjō-sagaru
1917年: Yamaguchi Genbey VII dies. He is succeeded by Yamaguchi Genbey VIII
1919年: Completion of the ten-year building programme begun by Yamaguchi Genbey VIII to commemorate his achievements.。
1933年: Yamaguchi Genbey VIII dies. He is succeeded by Yamaguchi Genbey IX
1981年: Yamaguchi Genbey IX dies. He is succeeded by the current Yamaguchi Genbey X, who concentrates the business on obi manufacture
1985年: Solo exhibition by Yamaguchi Genbey X of obi made from primitive textiles sourced from different parts of Japan. Starts weaving obi using wild silk from India and Southeast Asia
1994年: Exhibition celebrating the 260th anniversary of the founding of the company held in a late Edo period machiya in the Rokujō district of Kyoto
1999年: Exhibition entitled Kyoto Kondaya Genbey Obi and Kimono
2000年: Exhibition entitled Kondaya Genbey Woven Obi
2002年: Exhibitions entitled Kaguya Kono Mayu Koishimaru and Kondaya Genbey: Karaori Obi of Supreme Quality, Koishimaru Silk and Rare Examples of Paper Fabrics exhibited alongside Literary References. Receives Nikkei MJ Award for Kaguya Kono Mayu Koishimaru. Continues with efforts to revive the use of koishimaru, a species of silkworm indigenous to Japan, and to revitalise traditional Japanese dyeing techniques
2003年: Receives Japan Culture Design Award. Launches a study group to explore the symbolism of design motifs on Muromachi (1336-1573) and Momoyama (1573-1615) period clothing. Exhibition entitled Kondaya Genbey Obi Woven fromNatural Golden Maharaja Silk

BIOGRAPHY

Yamaguchi Genbey X

1948年: Born in the Muromachi area of Kyoto’s Nakagyō district
1957年: Becomes a passionate reader while hospitalized with TB
1971年: Serves apprenticeships in Semba, Osaka and Tōkaichi, Niigata
1975年: An encounter with funzōe (rag robes) at an exhibition of the Shōsōin Treasures inspires him to start making obi. Travels the length of Japan, from the Tōhoku region in the north to Okinawa in the south, in search of genshifu (primitive textiles)
1979年: Becomes the tenth-generation head of Kondaya Genbey following the death of his father. Travels all over Japan, waking up at 4am every morning in order to generate business to pay off his father’s debts
1985年: Holds exhibition of obi made from primitive textiles sourced from different parts of Japan. Starts weaving obi using wild silk from India and Southeast Asia
2002年: Creates kimono using silk from koishimaru, an ancient species of silkworm indigenous to Japan only recently made available to the wider world after having been cultivated exclusively in the Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery. The resulting works are shown in an exhibition entitled Kaguya Kono Mayu Koishimaru at the Sōgetsu Kaikan in Tokyo, for which he receives the Nikkei MJ Award
2003年: Receives Japan Culture Design Award. Launches obi woven from natural golden Maharaja silk. Starts designing costumes for the avant-garde dancer Tanaka Min
2004年: Opens tea room ‘Somushi’ at Kondaya’s premises on Sanjō-dōri
2006年: Exhibition entitled Kasane - Abstraction in Ink and Colour in collaboration with fashion designer Koshino Hiroko and architect Kuma Kengo. First participation in the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival
2008年: Collaborates with United Arrows to create men’s kimono in the spirit of the Momoyama period (1573-1615) for presentation at the Tokyo Collection as Kabuku Monotachi no Keifu (A Lineage of Dandies)
2009年: Designs costumes for Tanaka Min for the film Hokaibito including ‘funzōe for the Heisei period’
2012年: Appears on television in the NHK BS programme Takeshi Art Beat: A Man who Instils his Soul into Obi-Making. Chosen as an image character for the Toyota Motor Corporation
2013年: First participation in the Niihama Drumming Festival
2014年: Creates obi inspired by the works of the painter Matsui Fuyuko. Exhibited at Roppongi Hills in Tokyo (March) and Kondaya Genbey’s headquarters in Kyoto (April)