I’ve never mourned the demise of any event the way I mourned the Tokyo International Quilt Show that used to surprise and delight every January, but guess what? Yokohama to the rescue! There’s a new quilt show in town, and (how is this even possible?) it’s bigger and better than ever!
International artists were well represented, with a particularly strong showing from South Korea this year (more on that in the December Japanagram!). The featured artist was (fellow San Franciscan woo hoo) Joe Cunningham, whose abstract works ranged from this Ukranian-inspired triptych…
to this tour-de-force of techniques that just gets more amazing the closer you look.
In fact, the only bad thing about this show is that the level of perfection and artistry was so evident in every single quilt, after a while the insanely intricate work just became normal. I mean..
Ho hum, this one probably only took twenty thousand hours to make
<yawn> Another one with quilting so dense the thread would stretch to the moon and back 5,433 times
Pieced from only a kerbillion different fabrics? Yeah, yeah, aren’t they all?
But in fact, that WAS the ante to get in this game, and not only were the quilts that made the cut this year spectacular in all the ways you hope a quilt will wow.
They used time-honored patterns in new and vibrant ways…
rearranged familiar blocks to create delightful and energetic abstracts…
and mixed fairy tale whimsy with top-level artistry.
(Sorry double-take time—didn’t I see this as an easter egg in one of the insanely detailed models at the Tobu World Square miniature monuments park?_
And this year, many of these quilts pushed the boundaries by incorporating additional textile arts into their designs. Quilters—like stained glass artists— sometimes purpose-dye pieces to heighten their effect, like these flowers and leaves…
but gradation dyeing hit new levels of background goodness this year as artists gave new depth to traditional designs..
and even Hawaiian quilts got in on the action
But dyeing isn’t the only fabric art these modern quilters applied. Check out the embroidery embellishment on this one…
that’s absolutely fractal-like in its ability to become even more beautiful and intricate, the closer you get
But dyeing wasn’t the only fabric art deployed by these modern quilters—check out the use of lace, beading and sequins…
as well as excellent new examples of the modern technique of “painting” with textile elements like yarn and ribbons by fixing them in place with fine netting.
But I have to admit, my favorites were the pristine examples of plain piecing and sewing, like this one, which uses the simplest squares and quilting patterns, but the artist’s composition and choice of what’s in each square is just *chef’s kiss.*
I love this one for so engagingly capturing these lively koi in their pond…
this one, for enlivening a venerable symmetrical compass pattern with musical motifs, shifting fabric patterns and an unusual color combo…
this one for sheer Japanese fun…
this one for its graphic vintage fashion take…
this one for infusing traditional fall motifs with wonderful new colors…
and this one, (the exception to the rule) for “painting” with every art and material the artist could dig from her stash!
Can we just stop for a moment before we go, and step closer to marvel at the hand stitching and beadwork that was done by 80-year-old artist Kazuko Tanaka?
If this merely whets your appetite and you need to see MORE QUILTS…
subscribe to Japanagram (it’s free, and of course you can unsubscribe at any time), because there’s going to be a huge piece with lots more quilt-y goodness in the December 1, 2025 issue!
Yokohama World Quilt Festival
Pacifico Yokohama, Exhibition Hall D
1-1-1 Minato-mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama
Dates: November 13-15, 2026
Hours: 10:00 – 17:00
Admission: ¥2200
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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