As part of the entrance design work of the newly opened hotel “Kyoto Higashiyama With” in in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto prefecture, I designed the Karakami (thick printed paper) to be used for wallpaper.

I have got the Karakami created by a studio called “Kamisoe” in the Kita ward of Kyoto prefecture. Printing blocks were hand-engraved, and actual printing was done by these blocks manually, using Gofun (powdered chalk) and Kira (mica). Because of the mica, the pattern seems to keep rising up and sinking down with the focus of light from different angles. Typical of Kyoto architecture, the hotel has a long corridor, which stretches from the entrance to the front desk, so you can enjoy the characteristic effects of “Kira” design, varying according to the lighting.

The designed Karakami was pasted to the wall in pieces of about A3-size, in left, right, top and down directions. I designed the Karakami imagining a sea of clouds, so when the entire wall is viewed from the entrance, it looks just as if this sea clouds is floating further into the back of the building. Each piece of expressive hand-printed Karakami finally resulted in a large, artistic screen.

The designed Karakami was pasted to the wall in pieces of about A3-size, in left, right, top and down directions. I designed the Karakami imagining a sea of clouds, so when the entire wall is viewed from the entrance, it looks just as if this sea of clouds is floating further back. Each piece of expressive hand-printed Karakami finally resulted in a large, artistic screen.

In the classic Chinese tale “Saiyuuki” (“Journey to the West”), the cloud called Kintoun (flying nimbus), on which Son Goku rides, is very famous as it seems to travel nearly 44,000 miles in one leap. This “Kyoto Higashiyama With” hotel accounts for most of the overseas customers. Hence I think it would be wonderful if they could have a good time in Kyoto by traveling to the famous places of tourist attraction, riding on the Kintoun!