Costume Design and Arts Management Making Use of Local Resources: Practical Research Towards Stimulating Growth of Tokuji in Yamaguchi-city

This paper is focused on practical research regarding costume design and arts management that make use of local resources and which are influenced by local culture of Tokuji in Yamaguchi-city, located in a mountainous area in Yamaguchi Prefecture in the western part of Honshu in Japan. We will examine possibilities in fashion design through this study. This was a practical research project, done with cooperation between the university and local industry, with priorities being assigned by the requests of residents of the Tokuji area. In 2011 the Aurinko, Tokuji, Talo (it means the Solar Tokuji Building in Finnish) was decided as the base of activities. Other functions were gradually added on, including a salon for people of the area to exchange ideas and workshops for group discussions. This paper will specifically be focused on the handmade paper peculiar to Tokuji and traditionally used as a material in fashion. The fashion designs developed by this researcher's laboratory were strongly influenced by these styles of paper. These costumes were made with a handmade paper called "Kamiko" in Japan, that is aesthetic sense has been historically cherished. This paper suggests that the affluence and depth of costume design may be expressed not only by directly borrowing from these influences, but also by borrowing the traditional aesthetic sense original to Japan. Thus this paper will examine industry and culture simultaneously, examining in particular the impact of arts management and costume design using handmade paper manufactured locally.