Matsuyo Hayashi

My interview with her consisted of examining a set of erotic illustrations (shunga) her husband had spent years meticulously reproducing with his skill as a traditional painter. Here I was, a seventeen-year-old boy, raised in a devout Catholic household, sitting sipping tea on an already hot summer day, while examining acrobatic feats I had never before contemplated. All the while we discussed the patterns, dyes, and weaving techniques, as well as the range of garments worn (or not) by the impassioned participants in the copious illustrations. In hindsight (sorry!) I imagine it was a test of my ability to focus.

Madam Hayashi could not have been kinder. I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to ask questions. She was a traditional teacher in a traditional medium, and my role as student was to shut up and observe. It was a hard lesson learned, that is, from her former students (my “upperclassmen” - senpai) who appeared from time to time and cuffed my ears for being so brazen in my inquiries. She, however, never showed shock or annoyance, and always answered to the best of her ability. She went out of her way to teach me things she had never taught the other students - only because she assumed I would have access to nothing once I returned home, and therefore felt it crucial that I have a thorough knowledge of how to make and do everything from scratch. This got me another cuff on the head from some of my senpai.

As I came to learn more of her past, I grew to greatly admire her ability to lose herself in her art form. For even though she had elected to change her life, those around her were unaltered and treated her as they had always done. She died five years into my studies. As the end drew near, there was a great deal she still wanted me to learn. So much so, that she took me in tow to several other teachers to ask that they accept me as an apprentice once she was gone. As I observed the “ nusumi nozoki” (learn through stealing a glance) method of instruction employed by these masters, I felt so fortunate to have been blessed with Hayashi Sensei as my active teacher and mentor. It was only years later that I realized how much she had to humble herself to beseech these peers on my behalf, only to be indifferently rebuffed.

I have set my heart to share this love of hers with others, through my own artwork as well as through sharing what little knowledge I have gleaned of traditional textiles, as my only way of hoping to repay even a small portion of what she bequeathed to me.