Hakan Karar
2026-04-25T15:01:46+09:00

Voyage of Rug

Carpet & Kilim Exhibition in Sendai — Tougendo Open Office

From April 22 to April 26, 2026, Ararat Rugs is holding a carpet and kilim exhibition at Tougendo in Sendai, Japan. The event runs daily from 11:30 to 18:30, and Hakan Karar is present throughout the entire week to meet visitors, answer questions, and talk about the rugs and kilims on display.

Sendai has been an important city for us. For several years, an annual exhibition at the former Gallery Tougendo gave many people here the chance to encounter hand-woven rugs, kilims, and the world behind them up close. The gallery has since transformed into Tougendo — a smaller, more intimate studio and office — and we did not want to let another year pass without continuing this tradition in the city.

The corner room at Tougendo, overlooking the spring green of Sendai. A Safavid-inspired animal carpet fills the floor while the trees outside complete the scene.

The main exhibition space at Tougendo. Large-format rugs hang on the walls, rolled pieces wait to be unfolded, and kilims fill the inner room beyond.

A Small Space, A Deep World

There is something particularly fitting about showing rugs in a small, carefully considered space. A rug does not need a large room to make its presence felt — it needs the right attention. At Tougendo, visitors can look closely at the weave structure, feel the hand-spun wool, and understand how color, drawing, and material come together in a single object.

The works on display represent the range of what Ararat Rugs creates and collects: original hand-knotted rugs woven in the Safavid, Ottoman, and tribal traditions, as well as kilims selected for their weaving quality and regional character. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind object — made by hand, dyed with natural pigments, and woven on a vertical loom following techniques that have remained essentially unchanged for centuries.

A large Anatolian geometric kilim displayed in the inner room. The bold red field, navy border panels, and dense diamond compositions are characteristic of eastern Anatolian flatweave tradition.

Kilims on tatami — the Japanese room at Tougendo becomes a natural setting for these Anatolian flatweaves, their geometry speaking directly to the quiet order of the space.

Why Sendai

Japan has one of the most discerning audiences for textile art in the world. The appreciation for craft, for natural materials, for objects that carry the trace of human labor — these sensibilities are deeply embedded in Japanese aesthetic culture, and they are exactly the values that a hand-woven rug embodies.

Sendai, in particular, has a community of people who take the objects in their homes seriously. The response to these exhibitions over the years has confirmed that: visitors who spend time with the rugs, who ask careful questions, who return for a second look. It is for that quality of attention that we keep coming back.

Rug Care and Custom Weaving

Alongside the exhibition, two services are available for anyone interested.

Rug care and repair — If you have a rug that needs attention, whether it is a loose fringe, a worn patch, or a piece that has been stored and needs care, Hakan is available to assess it in person during the exhibition period. Good rugs are worth maintaining, and proper care can extend the life of a weaving by generations.

Custom rug making — Ararat Rugs creates one-of-a-kind rugs designed for specific families and spaces. A design built around a child's drawing, a beloved animal, a meaningful symbol, or a specific color world in your home — these are not novelty commissions but serious weavings made with the same natural dyes, hand-spun wool, and skilled hands as the historical pieces we draw from. We welcome any conversation about what this might look like for you.

Visit Details

Dates: April 22 (Wednesday) – April 26 (Sunday), 2026
Hours: 11:30 – 18:30 daily
Venue: 杜間道 (Tougendo)
Address: 〒980-0821 仙台市青葉区春日町3-8 春日町ファインビル 603
Phone: 080-6506-3831

The building is at the western end of Jozenji-dori. On the ground floor is a Volkswagen dealership — take the elevator to the 6th floor, room 603. No reservation required.

On Rugs and Their Place in a Home

A good rug is not decoration in the ordinary sense. It anchors a room, defines the space underfoot, and carries a visual intelligence refined over centuries. Living with a hand-woven rug is different from living with one made by machine — the slight irregularities, the warmth of natural dye, the way the color shifts in different light. These qualities are not imperfections. They are evidence of a human hand and a living tradition.

We hope that the Sendai exhibition offers a moment to slow down and look carefully — at how a rug is made, what it is made of, and why that still matters.