From a young age, Akiko Ishigaki had been involved in traditional Minsaa and Yaeyama Jofu weaving on her native Taketomi Island. She then learned the basics of dyeing under the textile artist and the Living National Treasure Fukumi Shimura in Kyoto. Akiko returned to Okinawa in 1980, then moved to Iriomote Island, and created with Kinsei Ishigaki their own workshop Kuuru-Koubou. Moving from Taketomi to Iriomote meant that she needed a fundamental reexamination of textile materials. Yaeyama Jofu traditionally uses threads made from ramie fibers, but it was difficult to grow ramie in the climate of Iriomote. Instead, it is the thread banana tree (Ito-Basho) that suits the climate. It was lucky for them because many thread banana trees were left unattended and were growing widely around the island.

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Iriomote is an island with mountains and abundant water. Most of the land consists of subtropical forests, except a part of the seasides with narrow flatlands. Kinsei, who owns the estate, grows red rice, thread banana trees and mulberries, applying pesticide-free methods in his field by the ocean. He also cultivates dye plants in his garden or on a hill in the back. In addition, he collects Kuuru (Dyeing Yam< / Dioscorea cirrhosa) which grows wild in the surrounding mountains, and Ryukyu indigo at the waterside of the nearby valley. I walked up the hill with Kinsei, and he showed me coffee trees he planted recently. The coffee trees were planted very well and carefully between wild trees in the forest to tolerate unexpected power of typhoons. This kind of insight cannot be generated without knowing the island's typical violent climate. Someday, I wish to drink a cup of brewed coffee from these trees. The water they use directly comes from the mountains, so it should be a delicious coffee. Needless to say, this specific water also contributes to the brilliant coloring of textiles produced by Kuuru workshop.

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Akiko Ishigaki explained her daily life like this. "I do not decide what to do when I wake up in the morning. I feel a deep sense of gratitude toward the sea and the mountains in Iriomote every morning, and I feel free to start working outside when I look up the blue sky. I will go to the beach and expose the dyed cloth in the sea. If it is rainy outside, I will spin the thread quietly …… " I felt that the way she spends her everyday life was simply beautiful.