STORY

Mizuhiki: A Line That Connects

Mizuhiki is a traditional Japanese decorative cord made by tightly twisting thin strips of washi paper.
It has long been used in ceremonial gift-giving and rituals, where it symbolizes relationships, gratitude, and prayers at important moments in life.

In mizuhiki, meaning changes through the act of knotting. Each knot carries symbolic significance—binding relationships, preserving intentions, or offering protection—allowing mizuhiki to function as more than ornamentation, but as a cultural language of connection.

Artist Eriko Morita approaches mizuhiki as a form of line.
By focusing on the act of knotting itself, she explores how time, memory, and human relationships are embedded within this seemingly simple material, reinterpreting the tradition through a contemporary lens.

Guided by Invisible Lines

From an early age, Eriko Morita was drawn to meticulous handwork.
As she grew older, her interests naturally expanded toward art and Japanese culture, but what captivated her most was the line.

The softly drifting lines of handwritten kana characters on white washi paper.
The delicate threads that form intricate lace patterns.
Though slender and seemingly fragile, these lines came together to create forms of remarkable beauty, as if infused with life itself—an expression Morita found endlessly compelling.

When she later began studying mizuhiki, she was enveloped by an unexpected sense of familiarity.
Quieting her mind and focusing her awareness at her fingertips, she moved her hands as if listening to the voices of the washi paper and the cord itself.
This act of making became a deeply restorative experience for her.

With a quiet resolve to pursue this path, Morita began her career as an artist.
She later relocated to Kyoto, encountered a wide range of people, and found that events unfolded as though guided by a single, continuous line—one leading naturally from one moment to the next.

Endless Knot: Mizuhiki and Celtic Patterns

Another enduring source of inspiration for Morita—one that predates her encounter with mizuhiki—is Celtic patterning.

During her travels in Europe after university, she encountered Celtic motifs for the first time and felt an immediate, inexplicable pull toward them. Years later, when she began studying mizuhiki, the sense of nostalgia that surfaced may well have originated from that earlier experience.
Celtic patterns often feature forms strikingly similar to awabi musubi, one of the fundamental knots in Japanese mizuhiki.
A single line transforms through the act of knotting, giving rise to new forms.
The images of infinity and mystery that emerge from this transformation possess a quiet power—one that effortlessly transcends boundaries of time, as well as those between East and West.

As a mizuhiki artist, Morita hopes one day to grasp this sense of infinity and mystery through her own hands.

Knotting and Inquiry

Alongside her creative practice, Morita is deeply committed to researching historical mizuhiki orikata.
Traditional Japanese mizuhiki orikata is closely connected to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements philosophy introduced from ancient China, and knots were once believed to hold special spiritual power.

By unraveling and studying these historical forms, Morita seeks to sense the prayers and wishes embedded in the handwork of those who came before her, and to carry those stories forward into the present.

With a desire to share the joy of this inquiry with others who share a similar spirit, she founded Wakobo Hoyou, a general incorporated association dedicated to mizuhiki practice and education, and is actively engaged in training and supporting certified instructors.

Guided by invisible lines, her journey with mizuhiki continues—still unfolding.