Kanako Iwai

• 1938
  Born in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture
• 1938
  Studied Japanese painting from her teens under Yuki Ogura
• 1965
  Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting, Japanese Painting major
• 1968
  Stayed in Detroit, Michigan, USA ( up to 1971)
• 1972
  Studied textiles at Tokyo Institute of Craft and Design ( up to 1974)
• 1979
  Studied under Yoshitaro Kamakura, Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property for "Stencil Dyeing"
• 1979
  Selected for the New Artists' Textiles Exhibition for the first time
• 1980
  Selected for the Textiles Traditional Kōgei Exhibition for the first time
• 1980
  Selected for the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition for the first time (selected several times from this year onward)
• 1984
  Becomes Full Member of the Japan Kōgei Association
• 2002
  Took part in the Bingata Dyeing Successors Training Program by Yuko Tamanaha, Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property for "Bingata" and learned the double-side dyeing technique(– 2003)
• 2007
  Solo exhibition at Wako Hall, Ginza (also in 2012 and 2016)

Mainly producing kimonos with designs in stencil resist picture dyeing, but also producing kimonos with stencil resist picture dyeing and tie-dye combined.

• 1994
  Received the Japan Kōgei Association Award at the Textiles Traditional Kōgei Exhibition
• 2012
  Received the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education Award at the 46th Textiles Traditional Kōgei Exhibition
• 2018
  Received the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education Award at the 52nd Textiles Traditional Kōgei Exhibition
• 2019
  Received the Japan Kōgei Association Incentive Award at the 66th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition

• Japanese Traditional Dyeing and Weaving Promotion Foundation
• - Formal kimono "Dandelion"
• - Formal kimono "“Flower Garden of Queen Consort”