Nobuo Matsubara (Japanese:æ¾åÂÂ伸çÂÂ, Matsubara Nobuo, born June 14 1965) is a Japanese textile artist who specializes in dying kimonos using the technique of resist dyeing.
Matsubara was born in Edogawa, Tokyo, in 1965. He attended Tokyo Metropolitan Technical High School, where he studied in the design department; graduating in 1984. He then began studying with his father, Toshio Matsubara, to learn nagahada nakagata and ai-gata dyeing processes.
His studio is based in located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan and he has worked there since he was 19.
He was named a Living National Treasure in 2023 for his work in the field of .
The dyeing technique is typically used in the making of . , handcut paper stencils from the Mie Prefecture are used to apply resist paste to both sides of the kimono cloth. This technique was common until the last century where a cheaper technique called became popular to dye fabric on both sides. Matubara mainly uses real indigo to dye his kimonos.
Matsubara's work is held in the permanent collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Work by Matsubara was purchased by Agency for Cultural Affairs as part of a collection of Cultural Properties of Japan.