A startlingly original creator in the medium of textiles, Living National Treasure Shimura Fukumi is also well known in Japan for her essays on color, nature, and the work of weaving and dyeing. This book collects some of Shimura's most insightful writing together with Takao Inoue's stunning photographs of her art and the natural world that inspires her creation. From winter snows to spring blossoms, from the foothills of Japan's "Southern Alps" to the back streets of Gion, Kyoto, Shimura initiates the reader into a facet of Japanese culture where the boundary between craft and art is blurred. Her insight into the sources and uses of natural color, along with her decades of experience in the world of Japanese textiles, from silkworm and loom to finished kimono, are both on full display in this rich collection. Offering new perspectives on contemporary textiles, Japanese folk craft traditions, and thoughts on how Japanese artists engage with the four seasons, the gemlike essays and translucent photographs of The Music of Color will linger with the reader long after the book itself is over.