"The first thing you grab is the best. Whatever the shop assistant chooses isn't necessarily the best. You have to think for yourself."
The home of 101-year-old dyer Samiro Yunoki is filled with items he has bought in this way. There's a frog figurine he found in South America, a Mexican toy whose arms and legs move when you pull a string, and a box made from stretched empty cans filled with old playing cards he bought in Paris.
"There's an airplane over one meter tall hanging from the ceiling of my studio. I stopped by an antique shop while out for a walk and bought it as a birthday present for myself."
She has loved shopping since she was young. One of her most memorable purchases is a clay bear doll about 15cm tall. In the photo album, there is a photo of Yunoki dressed in vibrant dyed fabric, gazing lovingly at the bear in her hand.
"When I was traveling in the US in the summer of 1986, I saw it at a shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and immediately wanted it. I hesitated at first because it was an artist's work and was expensive, but I ended up buying it because I really liked it."
A reminder of a life-changing trip
At the time, Yunoki was 63 years old. In fact, he was considering quitting the dyeing business he had been devoting himself to since he was 25 years old.
"I was at a dead end in my career, and I think I was afraid that if I continued doing things the way I was, I would end up just copying my own work, repeating what I had done in the past. That's when I visited the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, where they were exhibiting Mexican toys from the collection of textile designer Alexander Girard."
Pink, blue, green, yellow... I was surprised and delighted to see the dolls painted in vibrant colors.
"I was fascinated by the things they made from materials that were readily available, like wood, wire, and straw. The makers were ordinary people. They weren't artists, but I got the impression that they made them with a very cheerful attitude and had fun, which made me happy too. It has to be fun!"
He felt free to create anything he wanted, and was released from the weight that had been weighing on his heart. The bear with its droopy eyes and open mouth is a treasure that connects to the feelings he had at that time. Convinced that he had become "free," the dyer then tried his hand at glass painting, printmaking, picture books, sculptures, finger puppets, and even a 12-meter-long ink scroll painting.
"Everyday life is boring if you leave it alone," says Yuzuki. "You have to find what's welling up inside you and express it yourself." "I have that feeling all the time. I think it's the same with shopping. You have to trust the feeling that you're madly in love with something and grab it with your own hands."
The bear he fell in love with at first sight and bought while traveling in America in the summer of his 63rd year was a clay figurine made from clay and painted. Its round shape and silly expression make it adorable, making you want to pick it up and stroke it. I've forgotten the artist's name, but it was apparently the work of an artist. True to his saying, "I want to look at everything I fall in love with," after returning to Japan, it was displayed in his living room alongside numerous other objects and books, creating a lively atmosphere. His living room is lined with folk art and objects from all over the world, but his favorites are animal objects. They often appear in the picture books he began drawing in his 70s. The girl doll on the bottom left was made in Mexico.
