Profile: Yukino Shunme |
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View Larger Image and Additional Photos of Yukino ShunmeAbout Yukino Shunme : Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara, aka Yukino Shunme, is the person who has expertise in several fields including languages and shikki design, and is becoming more and more eager to learn new things, which makes her get inspired in each unique way when she is working on something.
I believe in the beauty and values of shikki that is made through traditional production process with totally natural materials, and want to take it back, or get it, on the normal track for people even in Japan to appreciate it with their true feelings. It seems that shikki has not yet recovered from the age in which mass production and consumption emerged and in which most people involved in the industry lost their confidence and decided that such shikki is hard to sell.
In some cases, you can see the tendency to distribute shikki by sticking to meanings based on logic, e.g. its fame or the artist’s fame. This could be part of reason that Japanese people are not generally interested in shikki, especially when it comes to so-called authentic one, that is beautiful but expensive. To make a long story short, the world of shikki have kept people away due to its connoisseur-like atmosphere.
Aesthetics of things you use as well as their quality is the crucial element for you to enjoy everyday life. When it comes to shikki, such aesthetics requires careful manufacturing with natural materials. I am producing shikki that looks modern, and it is made with totally natural materials to bring graceful shine on the surface. The glossy finish of such shikki is uniquely attractive.
The shikki produced by me including Tsuzumi harmonizes with not only Japanese style but also Western one, and it is repairable, which means sustainable and always be with you. It is light and have low thermal conductivity, so you feel pleasant to touch and use it. Above all, the beauty and values of the authentic shikki would be undeniable once you know after experiencing the real thing, so I would like to introduce this kind of shikki to the world and even to Japan.
We, human beings on Earth, have had innumerable kinds of craftmanship as a structural element of culture both in history and in daily life. As we know, the craftmanship must have started with nature. You would find true beauty in the objects that show amazing craftmanship combined with amazing elements of nature or physical phenomena in a sense. It could be one of many forms of sublimation that art enables.
I am confident that the shikki I am producing must be the one to be called art with craftmansip taking advantage of properties of natural wood and natural lacquer, urushi, to the most. Such shikki is repairable and you can appreciate the aging of shikki including change of color and fine scratches, which are inevitable accompaniment to cherished memories. In a word, you can enjoy the art of such shikki for a lifetime with affection. That is art.
ORGANIZATION:
SHUNMEYUKINO
NON-DESIGN OCCUPATION:
University lecturer humanities Education, research, training
EDUCATION:
M.A. in Literature and Linguistics, University of Tsukuba - Ibaraki, Japan 1993
Completion of the necessary requirements for Area Literature, Doctoral Program in Literature and Linguistics, University of Tsukuba - Ibaraki, Japan 1996
EXPERIENCE:
2020 to present: Shikki Producer for Authentic Japan Shunme, the new brand of Japanese lacquerware
2000 to present: Translator including;
for Singled Out by Dr. Bella DePaulo,
for The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography (published in 2005)
1995 - 2017 Part-time lecturer as well as an researcher at five universities in Japan
＊Worked as an interpreter occasionally in the past, but now I have started my interpretation services regularly taking jobs such as an interpreter at the press tour for the G7 Education Ministers' Meeting in Toyama and Kanazawa, its Welcome Dinner, etc. It is most probably that I am the only active interpreter in Toyama who have experiences of getting trained at one of most prominent interpretation schools in Tokyo.
EVENTS:
2022 One of the presenters at the Economic Exchange Online Conference between Toyama and Oregon
2015 Interpreter for the referee delegate at 2015 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup in Toyama
2002 Assistant interpreter for the first secretary at the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan at the Tateyama Forum
1998 Assistant interpreter at the international symposium of Institute for Gender Studies
1990 Assistant interpreter for The Age of Regionalism Video Festival (11th) in Toyama
1989 Volunteer interpreter for Peter Balestrieri (artist/ painter) at his private exhibition
AWARDS:
2023, Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki has been awarded A'Design Silver Award.
2022, Ninja Never Fights - Ofukuwake was selected for the exhibition at Japan Traditional Craft Aoyama Square after displayed at the National Art Center, Tokyo, for the Japan’s Traditional Craft Competition 2022.
2021, Tsuzumi Red Tame and Black Tame was selected for the exhibition at Japan Traditional Craft Aoyama Square after displayed at the National Art Center, Tokyo, for the Japan’s Traditional Craft Competition 2021.
2020, Ko-Tsuzumi-V was selected for the exhibition at Japan Traditional Craft Aoyama Square after displayed at the National Art Center, Tokyo, for the Japan’s Traditional Craft Competition 2020.
PRESS APPEARANCES:
2022, Authentic Japan Shunme: Original Series, Toyama Shinbun (Newspaper) dated November 18th, pp 23, TOYAMA/JAPAN.
ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS:
My articles got published in several magazines in the field of Literature, including;
1993, “‘Ethan Frome’ and ‘Turn of the Screw’: Power Concealed and Risen to Surface”, American Literature Tsukuba, No.6, Society of American Literature, Tsukuba, TSUKUBA/JAPAN.
1994, “Archer’s Reality: America in ‘Age of Innocence’”, American Literature Tsukuba, No.7, Society of American Literature, Tsukuba, TSUKUBA/JAPAN.
1994, “The Dawn of Consumer Society: E. Wharton, The Custom of the Country” , American Literature Review, No. 14, ed by Kazuko Takemura, American Literature Society of the University of Tsukuba, TSUKUBA/JAPAN.
1995, “Two Ages: E. Wharton, ‘The Fruit of the Tree’”, Otsuka Review, No. 31, Otsuka English Literary Society, TOKYO/JAPAN.
1998, “Beyond the Family Institution: Charity’s Unending Search for Her Unknown Identity”, Otsuka Review, No. 34, Otsuka English Literary Society, TOKYO/JAPAN.
1999, “Creative Space: The Report of Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Evening Seminar”, Gender Studies, No. 2, Institute for Gender Studies, TOKYO/JAPAN. Also collected in “Visual Expression and Gender” published by Ochanomizu Shobo, as one of International Gender Studies Series in 2004.
BOOKS:
2023 Co-Author of A’Design Award Winning Industrial Design Yearbook 2023 (ISBN 978-88-97977-55-1)
2014 to present Japanese Translation for "Singled Out" written by Dr. Bella DePaulo, Amazon.Kindle, TOKYO/JAPAN, ASIN: B072BBHTH6, ASIN: B00ZLOU5KK.
2005 Japanese translation for part of "The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography" , Kokushokankokai, Kazuko Takemura, TOKYO/JAPAN, ISBN 978-4-336-04396-2. The book is available at almost all the major libraries nationwide in Japan.
ACCOLADES:
Ko-Tsuzumi-V was selected for the exhibition at Japan Traditional Craft Aoyama Square after displayed at the National Art Center, Tokyo, for the Japan’s Traditional Craft Competition 2020, Tsuzumi Red Tame and Black Tame in 2021, and Ninja Never Fights - Ofukuwake in 2022. Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki has won A'Design Silver Award 2023.
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Japanese (Native)
English (Near Native)
French (Beginner)
Egyptian Arabic (Beginner)
Italian (Beginner)
Dutch (Beginner)
Germany (Beginner)
COMPUTER LITERACY:
I usually use Mac and iPhone.
SYMPOSIUMS AND ACADEMIC CONFERENCES::
One of the presenters at the following conferences:
Sep. 1993, “Comparative Study of Age of Innocence and The Golden Bowl “, American Literature Society of the University of Tsukuba”, Otsuma Women’s University, TOKYO/JAPAN.
Mar. 1994, “The Consumer Society of America in The Custom of the Country”, Otsuka English Literary Society, Tsukuba University, TSUKUBA/JAPAN.
Oct. 1995, “The Heroine and the Patriarchal Society: Edith Wharton’s Summer”, The 34th National Conference of American Literature Society of Japan, Tokyo University, TOKYO/JAPAN.
Oct. 1999, “The Multilayered Characteristics of Identity”, English Literary Society of Japan: The Regional Branch of Chubu District, Toyama University, TOYAMA/JAPAN.
1994, The editor of "American Literature Tsukuba, No.7", Tsukuba University, TSUKUBA/JAPAN.
1998 One of the reviewers at the monthly meeting held at the Institute for Gender Studies, Ochanomizu University, TOKYO/JAPAN.
MEMBERSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS:
2017, Society of Translator and Interpreter of British Columbia, Canada
HOBBIES:
Horseback Riding, Traveling, Watching A Movie, and Reading A Book.
WEB SITE:
https://authenticJapanshunme.com
PORTFOLIO URL:
https://ahunmeyukino.com
RSS URL:
https://competition.adesignaward.com/designer.php?
profile=338149
REGISTRATION DATE:
2022-10-01 18:30:15
COUNTRY/REGION:
Japan
ACCOUNT TYPE:
Professional
Awards received by Yukino Shunme
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Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki Silver A' Design Award Winner for Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Category in 2022 Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara for Authentic Japan Shunme |
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