永原 レキ Leki Nagahara
Director of In Between Blues, a seaside indigo dyeing studio that carries on the tradition of Awa indigo
Bio
Nagahara was born in 1982 in Tokushima Prefecture. While a student at Josai International University in Chiba Prefecture, he won the individual and team championships in the All Japan Student Surfing Championships. Influenced by the activities of musician Jack Johnson, after graduation he lived in surf towns and cities in Japan and overseas, studying music and art. In 2017 he established an indigo dyeing studio, In Between Blues, in his hometown by the sea in Tokushima Prefecture. He is engaged in activities to convey and pass on the values and charms of the natural environment and rural areas through the creation of products and places that fuse the appeal of surf culture and the traditional culture of his hometown, including Awa indigo and the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage.
Message
Through indigo dyeing, a want to share the view of nature I learned from surfing and the ocean, Shintoism and festivals, Buddhism and Zen, as well as the view of life and death I learned from the 88-temple pilgrimage in Shikoku. In addition, I want to explore the connections between people and nature that transcend time and space, all which I am learning from traditional Awa indigo culture.
Guide Q&A
Q: What is your most memorable experience in nature?
Tubing at the mount of the Kaifu River and experiencing Shinto ritual purification at the river’s headwaters of Todoroki Falls.
Q: What does nature represent to you?
The origin of everything.
Q: What has nature taught you?
A sense of reverence.
Q: What do you hope that people will get out of experiences with you as a guide?
I want my guests to develop a strong and gentle heart that accepts everything with tolerance, including heavenly bodies, ancestors, nature worship, ancestor worship, yin and yang, the spirit of harmony, and the spirit of roughness.
Highlights
・ Founded In Between Blues in 2017 ・ CEO of Mitsuguruma, Inc. from 2021 ・ General manager of Todoroki Shrine and Jomanji Temple ・ 2000~2003 Japan Champion, NSSA Japan Student Surfing Championships ・ Selected for the 2016 Lexus New Takumi Project ・ 2020 Tokyo Olympic Naminori Japan Official Wear Producer ・ Producer of the indigo Kumamon in 2021 ・ Languages: Japanese, English
