Japanese writer collects hundreds of Turkish laces

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

Japanese Ikumi Nonaka (L) has been collecting laces from different parts of Turkey and has a 1,500-item collection. She also teaches the making of point lace. AA photo

Japanese writer Ikumi Nonaka, who is living in the southern province of Antalya, has created a huge collection of lace that she has gathered from various regions of Turkey.

Nonaka’s 1,500-item collection even includes laces that are 120 years old.

Speaking to Anatolia news agency, Nonaka said she had come to Antalya after visiting Turkey’s other parts for 15 years as a tourist before deciding to relocate to the Mediterranean province.

She said she had conducted research on Turkish handicrafts during her visits and came across point lace. She then started collecting point lace from different regions in various colors and motifs, eventually accumulating 1,500 examples of the art.

“It is a very interesting handicraft,” said Nonaka, explaining how point lace expressed a human’s feelings: “Turkish girls reflect their feelings on these laces before getting married. They also continue doing it after getting married. For example, a girl shows her feelings for a boy by using flower motifs in a point lace. Or a married woman illustrates her problems with her mother-in-law by embroidering a pepper motif. The story and details of point lace are very interesting.”

Lace seminars in Tokyo
Nonaka said she had attracted a lot of attention from Japanese women during a seminar on lace that she organized in Tokyo.

“I was really impressed by attendees’ interest in the history of Turkish point lace and its making. Most of the women had never been to Turkey and did not know too much about Turkey, but the fact that lace is made with great patience and resembles our handicrafts increased interest in it.”