What is Bunka Shishu?
Bunka Shishu is a Japanese cultural embroidery technique. Commonly called "Bunka" or pronounced 'Boonka' in Japan. Bunka Shishu translates to a painting of thread--which is what many of the pictures look like by those who are viewing.
Bunka embroidery is also called Japanese Punch Needle Embroidery and threadpainting. It's both an art and a craft that originated over 100 years ago in Japan. A punch needle is used to apply rayon threads to fabric using a variety of techniques. Bunka embroidery creates the appearance of delicately shaded painting and the thread is never knotted. Because most often the thread has been 'pulled' to 2/4, its 'kinks' from being unraveled actually self know on the back side of the work while stitching. The thread is the same type of thread that is used in today's graduation tassels from many schools and universities. I remember the tread from tassels on lamps in my Grandmothers house--she was very upset if one of those tassels had become unraveled! However, that is just what Bunka stitchers do.
Kits are available from suppliers worldwide and many stitchers also evolve into designing their own pictures as their stitching skills and left over threads increase. Originals that a stitcher based on another's work such as someone else's photo, another art form kit, or any other source that the stitcher didn't create them self is called an Original Stitchery (OS). Whereas an original where the concept/idea etc all was created by the stitcher is called an Original Deisgn (OD).
Examples of kits that have been available thru the years include the following:
Bunka embroidery is also called Japanese Punch Needle Embroidery and threadpainting. It's both an art and a craft that originated over 100 years ago in Japan. A punch needle is used to apply rayon threads to fabric using a variety of techniques. Bunka embroidery creates the appearance of delicately shaded painting and the thread is never knotted. Because most often the thread has been 'pulled' to 2/4, its 'kinks' from being unraveled actually self know on the back side of the work while stitching. The thread is the same type of thread that is used in today's graduation tassels from many schools and universities. I remember the tread from tassels on lamps in my Grandmothers house--she was very upset if one of those tassels had become unraveled! However, that is just what Bunka stitchers do.
Kits are available from suppliers worldwide and many stitchers also evolve into designing their own pictures as their stitching skills and left over threads increase. Originals that a stitcher based on another's work such as someone else's photo, another art form kit, or any other source that the stitcher didn't create them self is called an Original Stitchery (OS). Whereas an original where the concept/idea etc all was created by the stitcher is called an Original Deisgn (OD).
Examples of kits that have been available thru the years include the following:
Last Updated 6 24 2014 adp