was a Japanese textile artist who was based in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. She created , a cloth made from the fibre of the ''

Musa basjoo ''Musa basjoo'', known variously as Japanese banana, Japanese fibre banana or hardy banana, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the banana family Musaceae. It was previously thought to have originated in the Ryukyu islands of southern ...

'', otherwise known as the Japanese fibre banana plant. Taira became a designated Living National Treasure of Japan in 2000.

Biography

Taira was born on 14 February 1921 in Ōgimi. As a child, she learned to weave

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and from her mother. In 1944, Taira worked at a spinning mill in

Kurashiki, Okayama is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...

. At the encouragement of the mill's owner, Soichiro Ohara, she began to study under Kichinosuke Tonomura, the head of a folk art museum. During this time she was heavily influenced by the movement. When she returned to Okinawa in 1946 she found that many of the banana trees had been cut down or died, and was determined to revitalize both the trees and the art of . After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, for

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

made from fell; Taira began to make table runners and cushions from coarse plant fibers, but was criticized for bringing down the quality associated with . Following this, Taira began to work more frequently with finer fibers. During this period, Taira also held some exhibitions of her work. Taira opened a textile studio in 1963 and hired some local weavers in order to centralize and increase her production. was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1974. The Kijoka Basho-fu Industrial Cooperative Association was established in 1984, and in 1986, the Ogimi Village Bashofu Hall opened and began offering training. In 2000, Taira was recognized as a Living National Treasure. In 1992 and 2002 she was awarded an

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Ap ...

. Several museums hold her works in their collections, including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Taira turned 100 on 14 February 2021, and died on 13 September 2022, at the age of 101.人間国宝の平良敏子さん亡くなる

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taira, Toshiko 1921 births 2022 deaths Japanese centenarians Japanese textile artists Living National Treasures of Japan Order of the Precious Crown members People from Okinawa Prefecture Women centenarians