was a Japanese textile artist who specialized in making kimono dyed using the Japanese: [[yūzen]] technique of resist dyeing. He also created the Japanese: makinori dyeing technique.
Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no was born in Japanese: [[Moriyama, Shiga]]|italic=no Prefecture on December 10, 1909. His given birth name was Japanese: Heishichiro|italic=no.[1] He apprenticed with Japanese: yūzen dyer Japanese: Nakagawa Kason|italic=no when he was 15. Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no took the artist name Japanese: "Kakō"|italic=no in 1934, when he was 25. He then opened his own studio in 1939, though his business struggled due to anti-luxury measures implemented during World War II, and had to re-establish his studio in 1948.[2]
Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no first exhibited at the Japanese Traditional Craft Exhibition (Japanese: Nihon Dento Kogei Ten|italic=no) in 1955, where he won third place.[2] He was named a Living National Treasure in 1967. In 1971, he was awarded the Japanese Medal of Honor (purple ribbon), and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 1982.[3]
Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no died on February 20, 2008. His son, Japanese: [[Kunihiko Moriguchi]]|italic=no, continues his father's work as a Japanese: yūzen kimono artist.
Though the Japanese: yūzen dyeing technique is typically used in the production of colourful designs and items, Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no's use of the technique was a notable departure from this.[4] His designs, commonly taking inspiration from classical depictions of nature in traditional Japanese art, have a painterly feel to them.[5] Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no was particularly well known for his common use and depiction of chrysanthemums.[2]
Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no is best known for using the Japanese: makinori (sprinkled rice paste) method of dyeing. This method involves applying flakes of zinc-infused paste to fabric before resist dyeing it. When the paste is removed, it leaves a delicately spotted, mist-like pattern.[6] This technique, revived by Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no, was commonly used in Edo period Japan, but had since been forgotten; Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no decided to revive the technique after having seen a Japanese: [[kosode]] that utilised it in the Tokyo National Museum.[6] Having originally thought that he could learn the technique from a lacquer artist, due to the similarities between Japanese: makinori and the lacquerwork technique of Japanese: [[maki-e]], Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no, unable to find a teacher, instead replicated the Japanese: makinori technique after much trial and error.[2]
Museums that hold Japanese: Moriguchi|italic=no's work include the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[7] and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[8]