There is a culture of cuteness in Japan that is so pervasive it has its own name, Kawaii. These days, Kawaii means almost anything tiny, cool, beautiful, or fashionable, including a new genre of quilts that Naomi Ichikawa and Teresa Duryea Wong have dubbed Kawaii quilts. In this lecture, Teresa will explain how an obscure set of laws in the 1600s set an entire country on a course to adore tiny things, and Naomi will be present through three short, pre-recorded videos. These veteran researchers will also share how centuries of Hina Matsuri celebrations have influenced quilting. They will introduce Yoko Sekita, Aki Sakai, Reiko Kato, Akiko Yoshimizu, Megumi Mizuno, and Hiroko Akita and show incredible close-up images of their stunning quilts which are covered with tens of thousands of tiny patches to create exquisite works of art that are distinctly Japanese, and most definitely Kawaii. www.teresaduryeawong.com