HORIKI ERIKO

PROFILE

HORIKI Eriko

In a workshop steeped in snow, craftspeople are seen sinking their hands up to their elbows in water so cold it hurts to touch, exhaling white breath as they silently prepare the materials to make washi.
When I first visited the Echizen workshop, I was astounded to see the dignified handiwork that has been handed down for 1300 years.

Imbued with a spirituality that “white paper (kami) connects us with the gods (kami),” washi has had a profound influence on Japanese people’s aesthetics and their distinctive customs since ancient times. It is an indispensable part of people’s daily lives as well as Shinto rituals and festivals.
However, machine-made washi and the use of modern materials have developed in a way that has sent the culture of handmade washi into decline.

To preserve the techniques of these wonderful artisans and the spirituality behind Japanese manufacturing for the future, it is essential that we take a new perspective and advance washi by taking on new endeavors each day.
We, along with the Echizen washi artisans, pursue our activities with two directions: connecting tradition to the future, and cultivating our innovations as traditions of the future through our new techniques.

We are also taking on the challenge of expression that transcends the traditional washi realm by giving it functions so that it will not burn, stain, tear, or fade, and making it even more fine and precise. We hope to go beyond the realms of culture, art, design, and craft, and further expand washi's unlimited potential.

Only when we try the impossible in the search for techniques and expressive methods that break free from stereotypes, we can connect tradition with the future.
We are striving to create washi that meets the demands of the era while transcending time and resonating in the heart.

HORIKI Eriko

1962
Born in Kyoto
1980
Joined Sumitomo Bank
1984
Transferred to Shiokuin Co., Ltd. (office work/accounting)
1986
Shiokuin Co., Ltd. ceases operations
1987
Established SHIMUS
1988
Opened SHIMUS Showroom in the Odasho Building
2000
Established Eriko Horiki & Associates Co., Ltd.
Opened Uzumasa Atelier and Uzumasa Showroom
2014
Opened Oike Showroom in the Yoshichu Building

WORK EXPERIENCE

2003 - 2004
Visiting Professor, Kyoto Koka Women’s University
2006 - 2008
Visiting Professor, Kyoto Seika University
2009 - 2018
Visiting Professor, Osaka Institute of Technology
2010 -
Director, ICC Kyoto Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
2013 -
Visiting Professor, Kyoto Arts and Crafts University
2013 - 2020
Counselor, Kyoto Prefecture
2015 - 2017
Visiting Professor, Kyoto Saga University of Arts
2022-
Outside Director, TOSE CO., LTD.
2023-
Member of the Education and Research Council, Shibaura Institute of Technology

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES / JUDGING

1999 -
Jury Member, Mino Washi Akari Art Contest and Exhibition
2002-2005
Jury Member, Good Design Award
2007 - 2019
Jury Member, Culture Venture Competition in Kyoto
2008 - 2022
Jury Member, Creative Lantern Design Competition in KYOTO HANATOURO
2012 -
Jury Member, Kyoto Women’s Entrepreneur Awards
2013 - 2015
Jury Member, Kyoto Architecture Awards
2014 - 2017
Jury Member, Kyoto Landscape Awards
2015
Jury Member, Terrada Art Awards
2121-
Jury Member, Japan Traditional Craft Revitalization Contests

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES / COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS

2006 -
Member, Cultural Power Creation Roundtable (Cultural Arts Office, Kyoto Prefectural Labor Department)
2009 -
Advisor, Committee for Promoting Classics Day (Kyoto Convention & Visitors Bureau)
2017 - 2018
Member, Future Culture Administration Review Conference (Culture and Art Promotion Division, Kyoto Prefectural Department of Culture and Sports)

TEXTBOOKS AND TEACHING MATERIALS

  • - Genius English Course II Revised pp. 136-149 (Taishukan Publishing Co., Ltd, 2008)
  • - Global View Earth Village: Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1, 2 and 3 p. 54, 55
    (Chikyumura Publishing, 2008)
  • - Art 2 and 3 (volume 1) p. 23 (Nihon Bunkyou Shuppan Co., Ltd., 2012)
  • - Art 2 and 3 (volume 2) p. 29 (Mitsumura Tosho Publishing Co., Ltd., 2012)
  • - Japanese Techniques to Teach Children 2: Washi Paper p. 29 (Bunkeido Co., Ltd., 2015)
  • - Art Materials: Kyoto Beauty p. 5 (Shugakusha Co., Ltd., 2018)
BOOKS