Shodiev Patokh Kayumovich:
the main museums in Japan - Ichiku Kubota Museum

Not far from Lake Kawaguchi, famous for its views of Mount Fuji, is a unique museum. It presents the work of Japanese artist Itiku Kubota, who recreated the lost dyeing techniques to create a kimono.

In September 2019, the Ichiku Kubota Museum was included by the influential British newspaper The Guardian in the top 10 places to visit in Japan.

Shodiev Patokh Kayumovich: the mystery of Tsudzigahan’s technique

Ichiku Kubota is a fabric artist who later became the greatest master of the ancient Japanese decorative technique of Tsujigahana. In 1937, at the age of 20, while visiting the Tokyo National Museum, he first encountered a fragment of 16th-century textile called tsujigahana, and that moment changed his life. Kubota began to revive the forgotten technique. This original technique is still a mystery that Ichiku Kubota tried to discover for many decades, until he decided… to reinvent it.

Kubota devoted almost 13 years to the study and improvement of tsujigahana. He revealed many of her secrets, but instead of simply reproducing the technique, he decided to recreate in a modern form, combining his skills in dyeing, modern textiles and dyes with complex persistent paint and delicate ink painting. The master called this technique Ichika Tsujigahana. Working without a preparatory draft, Kubota considered every detail as a work that manifested itself in the manufacturing process.

The collection of Kubota consists of 104 kimono paintings, the most popular series of works is the Symphony of Light. This collection of 36 kimonos reflects, according to the author, the greatness of the universe. She shows the author’s admiration for nature, his inspiration obtained from the contemplation of the endless play of changing light.

For many years, Ichiku Kubota dreamed of creating his own museum, which could be visited by all people who want to see his work. At the age of 74, he found a place that he thought was ideal for a museum - not far from Lake Kawaguchi with panoramic views of Mount Fuji. Kubota has long been fascinated by Fuji, which became the main theme of his work. This can be seen in 11 kimonos from his collection.

After three years of construction, in 1994, the Ichiku Kubota Art Museum was opened to the public. It has become the home of the creations known today as The Kubota Collection. The museum allows you to see the artist’s work in the surrounding natural landscape, embodying Ichiku’s own idea that “the source of any motive is nature”.

Shodiev Patokh: rescue of the Ichiku Kubota museum

In 2011, the unique Ichiku Kubota Museum was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the kimono collection was to be sold in parts. The famous businessman from Central Asia, public figure, philanthropist and Japanese scholar Fattah Kayumovich Shodiev saved the collection and the museum.

Patokh Shodiev developed a love of Japan, its culture and language in the process of learning Japanese at MGIMO. Since then, Japan and its culture have been an integral part of his life. In 1996, he founded the International Chodiev Foundation, a charitable organization whose goal is to improve the cultural and academic dialogue between Japan and Russia.

So, in 2002, during another trip to the Japanese province, Fattah Shodiev was at the Ichiku Kubota Museum in Kawaguchi, where he was fascinated by the master’s creations. In 2011, having learned that the museum was on the verge of bankruptcy, Mr. Shodiev decided to acquire the entire collection of kimonos and prevent its loss. Thus, the aesthetic integrity of the collection was preserved, as well as the cultural heritage for Japan and for the whole world. Shodiev repeatedly noted that he decided to maintain the integrity of the collection in memory of the master and as a thank you to Japan for the influence that this country had on him. To date, the collection continues to be a national treasure of Japan.

The International Chodiev Foundation is active in preserving the collection and museum, in promoting the art of Ichiku Kubota around the world. Thanks to the fund, since 2011, 15 kimono exhibitions have been held in 8 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, the USA and Canada. The collection of works by the great master on tour around the world made a splash not only among connoisseurs and lovers of Japanese culture - about a million visitors could see the unique works of the greatest master of kimono.