Toshiko Taira

Toshiko Taira (平良 敏子, Taira Toshiko, born February 14, 1921) is an Okinawan textile artist who creates Kijoka-bashofu, a cloth made from the fiber of the Musa basjoo, a kind of banana tree. Taira has been recognized as a Living National Treasure since 2000.

Taira was born on February 14, 1921 in Kijoka, Ogimi, Okinawa. As a child, she learned to weave cotton and kijoka-bashofu from her mother. In 1944, Taira worked at a spinning mill in Kurashiki, Okayama. At the encouragement of the mill's owner, Soichiro Ohara, she began to study under Kichinosuke Tonomura, the head of a folk art museum. During this time she was heavily influenced by the mingei movement. When she returned to Okinawa in 1946 she found that many of the banana trees had been cut down or died, and was determined to revitalize both the trees and the art of kijoka-bashofu that uses them.

After World War II, there was less demand for kimono made from kijoka-bashofu than before the war. Taira made table runners and cushions from coarse fibers, but what criticized for bringing down the quality associated with kijoka-bashofu. After receiving that criticism, she worked more frequently with the finer fibers. She also had a few exhibits of her work during this period. Taira opened a bashofu textile studio in 1963 and hired some local weavers so that she could centralize and increase production.

Kijoka-bashofu was named an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1974. The Kijoka Basho-fu Industrial Cooperative Association was established in 1984, and soon after that in 1986, the Ogimi Village Bashofu Hall opened and began offering training. In 2000, Taira was recognized as a Living National Treasure. In 1992 and 2002 she was awarded an Order of the Precious Crown.

Several museums hold her works in their collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.