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Villa Kujoyama: four Japanese art masters immersed in France
Published on 4 December 2025
From November 26 to December 11, Japanese art artisans are welcomed to France on the initiative of the Institut français, Villa Kujoyama and Fondation Bettencourt Schueller. Accustomed to sharing their know-how with resident artists at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto, it's now the turn of Japanese art masters to visit the laureates hosted and discover fine crafts in France through a program of meetings, exhibitions, exchanges and visits to the creative studios of leading institutions.
Between immersion and dialogue
From November 26 to December 11, 2025, this journey is a veritable voyage of initiation into the heart of French heritage and know-how. Japanese artisans will visit workshops, museums, national factories and art schools. Above all, they benefit from a special welcome at each institution to facilitate dialogue around different practices and techniques.
Throughout their stay, the Japanese craftsmen exchange with their French counterparts: restorers at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, plumbers, ceramists, cabinetmakers, textile designers, embroiderers, costume designers and curators.
The delegation will also take part in the "Ce qui se trame" festival, at the Mobilier national, where she will attend a talk on the links between Japanese textile traditions and contemporary creations.
Partner institutions include MAD - Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Manufacture de Sèvres, Mobilier national, Opéra de Paris, Cour de l'Industrie, Opéra Comique, JAD de Sèvres and Galerie du 19M.
This journey thus goes far beyond a simple technical demonstration. The aim is to create a space for encounters and dialogue between Japanese and French know-how.
Four major figures in Japanese craftsmanship
Mitsue Nakamura - Noh mask designer
Kyoto-based Noh mask designer Mitsue Nakamura perpetuates a seven-century-old art form. Trained in Western painting before becoming a disciple of master Yasuemon Hori, she is renowned for the finesse of her masks, exhibited at the Kyoto Museum since 1994 and used by the great houses of Noh theater, notably the Kanze school.
Her masks are passed down from generation to generation and are among the masterpieces of Japanese theater.
Ema Okamoto - Managing Director and textile designer of the Okamoto Orimono weaving workshop
Director of the Okamoto Orimono workshop founded in 1909, Ema Okamoto blends traditional weaving with contemporary research. A specialist in kinran - ceremonial silks enriched with gold threads - she breathes new energy into this art originally destined for temples, creating colorful motifs inspired by cultures from around the world.
The Okamoto Orimono workshop, one of the last to master this complex technique, saw its creations join the CNAP collections in 2023.
Taketoshi Akasaka - Designer dyer
A former student of master Kichisaburô Kuriyama, Taketoshi Akasaka sublimates the ancestral art of katazome, stencil dyeing combining resistant rice paste, washi stencils (katagami) and natural pigments.
From his workshop in Kyoto prefecture, he develops new motifs and collaborates with costume designers and heritage institutions, notably for kyôgen costumes.
Shuji Nakagawa - Founder and designer at kioke workshop Nakagawa Woodworking Hira
From a line of masters of kioke, the traditional wooden buckets and tubs, Shuji Nakagawa reinvents this technique by blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design.
His pieces, made in his workshop near Lake Biwa, are presented in museums and are the subject of prestigious collaborations, notably with Dom Pérignon or artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Find out more about Villa Kujoyama
Villa Kujoyama is an artistic establishment in the cultural cooperation network of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. Reporting to the French Institute of Japan, it acts in coordination with the French Institute and enjoys the support of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, which is its principal patron.
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