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Tokyo Weekender

The Kimono-Wearing Snowboarder Carving a New Path for Japanese Crafts

On a slope blanketed with powdery snow, a young woman glides gracefully downhill in a flash of red, the long sleeves of her kimono billowing behind her like streamers in the wind, her snowboard carving elegant, meandering arcs into the mountainside. The snowboarder, Sumire Morino, had come to the mountain that day for a special reason: to celebrate Coming of Age Day, a Japanese national holiday that honors the transition into adulthood, traditionally considered to be at age 20. Across the country, it's marked by formal ceremonies and gatherings where newly minted adults come together, often at local town halls or shrines. The men generally wear tailored suits; the women, furisode — a traditional kimono distinguished by its long, flowing sleeves and vivid patterns. But Morino wanted to mark the milestone in her own way. A short video of the ride, which Morino posted on Twitter (now X) in January 2023, captivated viewers in Japan and beyond. It resulted in a flurry of media attention; to date, it's been viewed nearly 20 million times. 'Now, furisode snowboarding has become one of my signature pieces,' she tells Tokyo Weekender. Rooted in Snow and Craft Furisode-clad runs aren't the only way that Morino puts a unique spin on Japanese tradition: As part of her graduation thesis for art school, she creates one-of-a-kind artworks on the surface of snowboarding and ski equipment, decorating them with urushi lacquer. This traditional Japanese craft involves applying refined tree sap in multiple layers to create a durable, glossy finish; it's typically seen on bowls, boxes and other household items. Instead of furniture or ceramics, Morino chose the unconventional surface of high-performance snow sports gear, made from materials like fiberglass and carbon fiber. Her designs are distinctly contemporary and often whimsical — opalescent whales, for instance, or patterns of skiers nestled in swirling puffs of snow. A bold, red board is emblazoned with a smattering of fried eggs and a frying pan. The 'egg whites' are made with quail eggshells, painstakingly glued on one fragment at a time, while the 'yolks' are glazed with a shimmering finish made of silver powder. 'My graduation project happened to focus on winter sports because they were familiar to me,' Morino explains. Her relationship with snow began in childhood, shaped by her time in Aomori Prefecture, known for its long winters and deep snowdrifts. She often visited her grandmother's house, which was filled with traditional Tsugaru-nuri lacquerware, recognizable by its vivid layered patterns and rich, textured finish — her first introduction to lacquerware and traditional arts. Before becoming a lacquer craftswoman and snowboarder, Morino's formative years were far from smooth. By fourth grade, she began struggling with a health condition that made mornings nearly impossible and school attendance sporadic. Her mental health also deteriorated after her parents' divorce, and all these challenges eventually led to her withdrawing from traditional education entirely. 'I sat alone in an empty auditorium at my graduation. No one wrote in my yearbook. My report card had blank spaces where grades should've been,' Morino recounts in a post on her personal blog. But instead of closing her off, these isolating experiences ended up widening her world. Tradition Meets Terrain In high school, while enrolled in a nontraditional learning program, Morino spent her days camping, riding her bike and taking up part-time jobs. One winter, she decided to take a position at a ski resort in Nagano — a decision that would forever alter the trajectory of her life. It was here that she first tried snowboarding, and here that she discovered a subculture of snowboarding cosplayers and enthusiasts creating custom 'ita snowboards' — creations in the same vein as 'ita bags' or 'ita cars,' where everyday objects are heavily decorated with anime art, like decals, badges or stickers. Morino was hooked. She invested nearly all her earnings in her first snowboard and boots. What began as a seasonal escape evolved into a passionate pursuit and, eventually, a canvas for her artistic expression. In college, she began studying urushi techniques, and instinctively brought them out of the classroom into her daily life. In place of anime decals, she began ornamenting her boards with mother-of-pearl, gold leaf and layers of red and black lacquer. 'To me, traditional crafts aren't 'old' — they're just cool,' she says. 'I don't feel bound by tradition, nor do I see pop culture as something radically new. Both occupy the same space in my mind as things I like, so combining them feels natural.' She approached snowboarding in an elaborate furisode with the same mindset: 'I'd already been snowboarding in cosplay … so it didn't feel like I was doing anything particularly unusual. It started from a playful idea: Wouldn't this be fun? ' The Beauty of Inefficiency Morino is still studying urushi lacquer techniques at school, and later this year, she'll hold a solo exhibition in Tokyo. In her Instagram bio, she describes herself simply as 'an artist and a craftsperson.' Though deeply committed to traditional crafts, she has a clear-eyed perspective on why many in her generation are drifting away from them: 'I think crafts feel distant because they're not part of most people's daily lives. They're unseen, unconsidered. But crafts have always evolved with the times. It was only when they began to be labeled as 'traditional' that they started feeling frozen in time.' She doesn't see herself as a preservationist so much as a catalyst: 'Rather than a decline in artisans, I think the real issue is a drop in demand — fewer buyers. Without demand, it's hard to sustain a craft. So I hope to contribute by creating that demand.' Objects made with beauty and care, using techniques passed down through generations, carry an inherent value that can't be rushed or replicated. Morino believes this timeless quality will endure. 'In an age of AI and industrial automation, crafts can seem like bundles of inefficiency,' she muses. 'But especially with urushi, which is a uniquely Japanese technique, that inefficiency is what makes it valuable. It's handmade, it's irreplaceable, and that makes it the ultimate luxury.' More Info Follow Sumire Morino on Instagram at @ morinosumire . Her solo exhibition runs in the Art Mall in Nihonbashi, Tokyo from June 24 to 29, 2025. Address: 1 Chome-13-10 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo City, Tokyo 103-0022 Related Posts The Beauty of Broken Things: The Artist Using Kintsugi To Heal Emotional Wounds A Complete Guide to Skiing in Japan: Where To Find the Best Powder 5 Best Prefectures in Japan for Skiing and Snowboarding