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TOKYO >> Issey Miyake, who died on August 5 at the age of 84, grew up in Hiroshima. As a high school student, he was deeply moved by the beauty of the railings of the Peace Bridge near the city’s atomic bombing ground zero. The handrails were designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi. “It made me aware of the power of design to give people encouragement,” Miyake later said.
Miyake was a hibakusha – an atomic bomb survivor – as a 7-year-old boy. However, he rarely talked about his experiences during the war.
“I don’t want to be called a dartboard designer, and it would be pathetic to make the atomic bombing an excuse,” he once said. “Pikadon” is a Japanese slang term for atomic bomb.
However, in December 2015, on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Miyake told Japan News-Yomiuri about his experiences as a hibakusha.
“If someone like me, who has symptoms from the bombing, speaks out now, then things can start to change in society, even a little bit,” he said, explaining why he decided to speak out about the experience. He must have been concerned that the number of people who could tell their war experiences was decreasing every year and that war memories were in danger of being forgotten.
Miyake prepared for the interview, asking for photos. He recalled walking home alone, 1.5 miles from ground zero, on August 6, 1945, to find his mother, and how as a 10-year-old he nearly died after developing periostitis, an inflammation of the connective tissue that surrounds the bone. , as a result of the bombings. At times he became tearful during the three-hour discussion, revealing what he had kept locked in his heart.
Miyake didn’t expect to live long, but when he got into fashion design as a student, he found something to live for. By the 1970s he delivered his one-of-a-kind designs to the world, featuring Japanese materials and craftsmanship combined with the latest technologies.
“A designer is someone who proposes clothing that reflects the time, society and needs of the people,” Miyake said.
Original designs born from a single piece of fabric, pleated garments that could be washed at home, garments made from durable materials, brightly colored clothes – the works he produced struck a chord with people around the globe.
His designs shared brightness and hope, perhaps created in contrast to the deep pain of his wartime experiences.
In 2016 a large-scale retrospective of Miyake’s work was held at the National Art Center in Tokyo.
“How will people’s lives change in the future? It is not good to repeat something that existed before. I would be happy if I can produce beauty that many people will really need, priceless beauty that remains in your memory,” he said.
His desire to make clothes for the next era never waned.
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