Tokyo Quilt Show 2009

I spent 2 days at the Tokyo Quilt Show. Boy, did my feet hurt! The Japanese have only taken up the art of quilting in the last few years, but they are moving forward with great speed and perfection.

The huge Tokyo Dome was the setting for hundreds of quilt entries and a multitude of vendors, American products were very popular, but I was looking for more local wares.
The crowd began arriving before the appointed opening time on the first day. There was plenty of security in place, leading me to wonder if there had been stampedes by ardent quilters in previous years. It was a well-behaved crowd with an almost palpable air of excitement. Instructions were barked from security officers posted around the edges, but I couldn't understand the Japanese so I just followed the crowd. There were only 3-4 English-looking faces in the crowd and it was fairly easy to see what was happening because we stood head and shoulders above most of the other people.
Once inside, we proceeded along paths, more accustomed to avid sports fans than quiet quilters, to an open arena blocked off with temporary walls bearing the fruit of many hours of labor. There were highly creative quilts, a lot of hand-quilting, some traditional American type quilts, and a lot of people. My favorite area focused on the use of vintage Japanese fabrics.

The centerpiece of the quilt show was a house with a picnic setting in the garden. Look carefully at the photos to notice sushi, tiny sandwiches, birds, baskets, flowers, even grass and leaves - all made from fabric.