First Love: Homage to the “Factory Girls”* 

Visiting Ichinomiya,  I reflected on the good old bustling days. Beautiful classical houses with traditional gardens, faded shop signs, I thought of the girls who worked in the "sawtooth roof factories" back then, and the behind-the-scenes story of the once-flourishing wool textile industry.

I had the opportunity to hear the story of a former factory worker, once known as "Orihime," the weaving princess. She came to an unfamiliar land at the age of 15 and worked hard, six days a week from dawn until late at night, for 10 years. She missed her faraway hometown, but she was happy to be able to send money to her mother, who was suffering even harder than she was as a heavy manual laborer in a male-dominated field. "That's just how it was in those days." She repeatedly said.

At her live-in small factory, where she lived and worked for 10 years, she shared a six-tatami-mat room with a girl who came from the same hometown. "We are still good friends.” Her gentle gaze fixed on the distance made me wonder what their daily conversations, their friendships, and their first loves were like, and what dreams they had for the future.

We must not forget that behind the prosperity of the industrial economy lay the labor force of socially vulnerable people, including young girls, many of whom lived in harsh conditions.

However, amidst this, I can’t stop imagining how adolescent girls permeate the air like the fragrance of quiet flowers, with a dream of blooming that represents the strength all humanity needs to survive, and is a wisdom we could learn, I believe.

Inspired by the image of those girls, the KokeshiDolls* of  “Factory Girls”* were created by connection across generations, such as from the thread spools still used in the factory today, remnants left behind in the old factory, and fragments I found, all crafted by hand with thread produced in Ichinomiya.

Dedicated to the girls who spent their youth in this area, dreaming of the future.

Yuri Shimojo

「女工さん｣*の初恋

一宮を訪ね、在りし日のにぎやかな面影に想いをはせる。美しい庭園とお屋敷の跡、色あせた商いの看板。栄華を極めた毛織物産業の舞台裏、当時「のこぎり屋根工場」で働いていた少女たちのことを想いました。

かつて“織姫”と呼ばれた元「女工さん｣* のお話をうかがうことができました。15歳で知らない土地に来て、夜明けから夜更けまで週六日間の重労働を十年間。故郷は恋しかったけれど自分よりも苦労をしているお母さんに仕送りができることが幸せだった。「そういうものだったのよ」と、繰り返し言っておられたのが印象的でした。

六畳一間、住み込みの部屋で寝起きを共にした友だちとは「今でも仲良くしています」と、遠くを見つめる優しい眼差しに、彼女たちの日々の会話、友情は、初恋は、どんな風だったのだろう？どんな夢を未来に描いていたんだろう？と想像するのです。

産業経済が繁栄する影には社会的弱者、少女たちの労働力があり、その多くは過酷な状況であった事は忘れてはいけません。そのなかで、静かな花の香りのようにたち込めていた思春期の少女たちの想像力。それは人が生きていくための強さであり、見習うべき知恵であると思うのです。

そんな少女たちの面影にインスピレーションを受け、現在も工場で使用されている糸巻きの芯や、古い工場に遺されたもの、見つけたカケラ、それらを一宮で生産された糸で繋げ生まれたのが「女工さんこけし｣* たちです。

この地で未来への夢を見ながら青春時代を過ごした少女たちへ。

下條ユリ

* 「女工｣という言葉には女性蔑視的意味合いが含まれるため、現代では、配慮すべき表現とされています。今回の展示では、当時のニュアンスを感じ取ってもらうためあえて使用しています。
* The term "Joko, or Factory Girls " carries misogynistic connotations and is considered an inappropriate expression in modern times. In this exhibition, however, it is intentionally used to convey the nuances of the time.
* Kokeshi Dolls are traditional, handcrafted wooden dolls with 150 years of history, characterized by a simple, limbless cylindrical body and a round head, symbolizing good luck.

YURI SHIMOJO

Born in Tokyo, Yuri Shimojo is a contemporary artist based in New York and Kyoto. After losing all of her immediate family by the age of 30, her practice has been shaped by themes of impermanence, transformation, and the emotional cycles of regeneration. She develops a distinctive visual language that blends abstraction and surrealism.

Raised in a culturally rich environment rooted in Japanese traditional performing arts, she later spent many years in Hawaii, where she studied indigenous spirituality. These cross-cultural experiences continue to inform her work.

Using Japanese watercolor or ground SUMI and SHU ink, her works evoke both playfulness and a sense of universal compassion.

Her works are held in collections including the Boston Public Library, and she continues to present work internationally while also developing new projects in Japan.

下條ユリ (しもじょうゆり)

東京⽣まれ。ニューヨークと京都を拠点に活動する現代美術家。30歳までに近親者をすべて失った経験を背景に、森羅万象の諸行無常と再⽣に伴う感情の相関性を主題に、抽象とシュルレアリスムを融合する独⾃の絵画表現を展開。

古典芸能など和の文化を嗜む環境で育った傍ら、長年ハワイで暮らし土着性スピリチュアリティを学ぶなど、その異⽂化横断の経験がもたらす影響は深い。⽇本画の絵具や墨と朱を⽤いて描かれる表現は時に遊び心に満ち、普遍性への共感や慈しみを喚起する。

作品はボストン公共図書館をはじめ国内外のコレクションに収蔵され、活動の場は主に国外だったが、この春より婦人画報から版画の販売が開始され、波瀾に富んだ生い立ちを綴った『ちいさならくがき』（1997年刊・2007年復刊）が30年の歳月を経てKindle化、「⾃分を知るために描く」体験を軸とした独⾃のワークショップも各地で開催している。

www.yurishimojo.com     @yurishimojo