Marc Petitjean is a writer, filmmaker, and photographer. He has
directed several documentaries, including From Hiroshima to
Fukushima, on Dr. Shuntaro Hida, a survivor of the atomic bombing
of Hiroshima; Living Treasure, about Japanese kimono painter
Kunihiko Moriguchi; and Zones grises, on his own search for
information about the life of his father, Michel Petitjean, after
his death.
Adriana Hunter studied French and Drama at the University of
London. She has translated nearly ninety books, including Veronique
Olmi's Bakhita and Herve Le Tellier's Electrico W, winner of the
French-American Foundation's 2013 Translation Prize in Fiction. She
lives in Kent, England.
“In the limpid stillness of Marc Petitjean’s sentences, and the
focus of his gaze, Back to Japan becomes something deeper than a
conventional biography. It’s an act of profound
contemplation.” —Judith Thurman, author of Secrets of the
Flesh: A Life of Colette
“A treasure of a book about a living treasure. Kunihiko Moriguchi’s
story is the story of Japanese craftsmanship at its most elegant,
and Marc Petitjean’s intimate biography is a window into a rarefied
world most Japanese and foreigners never get to see.” —Matt Alt,
author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World
“An eye-opening sojourn into the world of Japanese art and the
remarkable life of a Japanese National Treasure, famed textile
artist Kunihiko Moriguchi. It was a delight to read from beginning
to end as well as an education into things Japanese.” —Robert
Whiting, author of Tokyo Junkie
“Kimono designer Kunihiko Moriguchi is a ‘Living National
Treasure,’ the highest cultural recognition bestowed in Japan. But
he is not simply preserving a tradition. He has absorbed a modern
Western aesthetic, creating his own unique style. This is the story
of how he grew up enfolded in a traditional family, learning skills
from his father, then leaping into the art world of Paris in the
1960s, only to discover that his true calling lay back home in
Kyoto. A rare cosmopolitan figure in the world of Japanese
traditional crafts deemed worthy of Intangible Cultural Heritage
status, Moriguchi is portrayed through the eyes of his French
friend, filmmaker Marc Petitjean, for whom Moriguchi is a portal
for understanding deep Japanese sensibilities. An intimate and
engrossing portrait of an artist’s life within French and Japanese
culture.” —Liza Dalby, author of Geisha and The Tale of
Murasaki
“Through his personal interaction with the textile artist, Marc
Petitjean narrates a captivating biographical story of Kunihiko
Moriguchi, who is a direct successor of the long history and
technique of yūzen, a paste-resist method of dyeing invented in the
second half of the sixteenth century. Moriguchi combined Japanese
tradition and Western modernity to create unique and original
geometrical designs that are now his trademark. The book details
his upbringing in Kyoto, his experiences in France, and influences
from his mentors, such as his father and Balthus, all of which
shaped who he is today as Japan’s Living National Treasure. The
book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in Japanese art
and culture.” —Yuniya Kawamura, Professor of Sociology,
Fashion Institute of Technology, and author of The Japanese
Revolution in Paris Fashion
“Marc Petitjean’s wonderfully compact book delivers an intimate
account of the kimono in modern times from the unique perspective
of one of its most esteemed practitioners, kimono painter and
Living National Treasure Kunihiko Moriguchi. More than his kimono
designs, we learn about the place of the kimono and its arts in
contemporary times through Moriguchi’s eyes—from growing up as the
son of a renowned kimono painter during the postwar poverty of
Japan, escaping to Paris to find a new context for his art, and
returning to Japan to define his art’s own context. Back to Japan
centers on this life-changing decision. Petitjean gives a
candid portrayal of his friend and artist who fiercely protected
his creative voice while proudly carrying on the artistic tradition
in kimono of permanent innovation.” —Vivian Li, Lupe Murchison
Curator of Contemporary Art, Dallas Museum of Art, and coauthor of
Kimono Couture: The Beauty of Chiso
“Reading this book is like overhearing someone’s extraordinary
story at an intimate cocktail party, with all the characters in the
room, and it somehow made me nostalgic for a life before I was
born—Paris in the sixties, Kyoto in the seventies. Thanks to
Petitjean’s sensitive observation and careful research, we get to
witness the unfolding of Moriguchi’s lifelong quest for creative
freedom within the constraints of a traditional culture. Back to
Japan is a real treasure.” —Beth Kempton, author of Wabi Sabi:
Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life
“Marc Petitjean takes readers on a remarkable journey into the life
and art of Kunihiko Moriguchi, a Living National Treasure and one
of the great masters of yūzen. From the galleries of Paris to the
strict workshops of Kyoto, Back to Japan offers an intimate glimpse
of an artist who at once preserves and revolutionizes a
centuries-old art form. Petitjean’s poetic and heartfelt prose,
along with Moriguchi’s extraordinary creations, will
linger in your imagination long after you close the
pages.” —Virginia Soenksen, Director, Madison Art Collection
and Lisanby Museum, and coauthor of Textiles of Japan
“Marc Petitjean’s Back to Japan: The Life and Art of Master Kimono
Painter Kunihiko Moriguchi is an exquisite journey into the
life trajectory and work ethos of Moriguchi. While painting a vivid
portrait of the master, Petitjean also describes the eternal
conflicts of modernity vs. tradition, art and artisanal thought
processes, and cross-cultural otherness. This book is a rare
glimpse into this rarified world and is written with sensitivity
and skill.” —Manami Okazaki, author of Kimono Now
“Back to Japan highlights the way art crosses borders—temporal and
geographical—and weaves together friendships and family legacies.
At once moving and profound, the book follows the life course of a
son who, in sacrificing his own passions, discovers new modes of
expression in the elegant folds and shadows of traditional yūzen
dyeing. Marc Petitjean’s riveting portrait of textile artist
Kunihiko Moriguchi is more than biography; it is a testimony to the
‘dynamic dignity’ this art requires.” —Rebecca
Copeland, Professor of Japanese Literature, Washington
University in St. Louis, and author of The Kimono Tattoo
Praise for The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris:
“Compelling...[Petitjean] captures the pop and fizz of artistic
circles in Paris during the interwar years...The Heart is a
distinctively intimate undertaking, which is no small feat
considering its well-known cast of characters...an unconventional
and deeply personal biography.” —Washington Post
“An intimate portrait of the artist and her time in the lively
1930s surrealist scene.” —New York Times Book Review
“This crisp, concise, radiant gem of a book is a delight all the
way through, whether you see it as a yarn of multigenerational
heartbreak and longing, a beautiful and unlikely father-son
chronicle, a classic artist-muse love story, or a cautionary tale
about the most obsessively rendered city on earth.” —Bookforum
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