Eiichi Shiroma
Born 1987, Okinawa Prefecture
The Shiroma family is one of the three main families in Okinawa engaged in traditional bingata stencil-resist dyeing.* As the 16th successor, Eiichi Shiroma has endeavored to redefine bingata . He arrived at the vision of “fertile islands,” which seems to be a key concept for deepening one’s familiarity with bingata . For this project’s imagery, Shiroma drew inspiration from the tropical Alola region, one of the settings in the Pokémon video game series. The theme is “Wind of Journeys.” Embarking on a journey is an essential aspect of the Pokémon universe. The Pokémon appearing in the stenciled pattern, in which four leaves of the fragrant screw pine plant form a unit, are Pikachu, Raichu, Rowlet, Litten, Popplio, and Oricorio, the last of which inhabits each of the four islands that make up Alola. The five colors used in bingata (red, blue, yellow, green, and pink) fit the motifs splendidly, and the shading effect characteristically used to accentuate dark colors in bingata is noteworthy as well. The vigorous presence of the Pokémon is enhanced, and they seem to be soaring outward on the wind that ruffles the screw pines.
* The Bingata dyeing technique is approximately 600 years-old.
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