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Japan's kimono culture is supported by many advanced and delicate traditional techniques, but in recent years many of these are at risk of disappearing due to a lack of successors and sluggish demand. Below are some representative examples of kimono-related traditional techniques that are particularly at risk of disappearing.
1. Monsho Uwaeshi (Crest Painter)
There is a traditional profession known only to those in the know: "Monsho-Uwaeshi". Using bamboo compasses and rulers, they skillfully draw family crests onto kimonos using circles and lines. The techniques passed down through the generations have been designated as an intangible cultural asset of Japan, but in recent years, work has been declining. Even as the succession of the craft is in jeopardy, there is a monsho-Uwaeshi who is trying to preserve the culture of family crests as modern designs.
▪ Description:
A specialist who hand-paints family crests onto kimonos and haori coats.
High concentration and skill are required to paint each stroke with an extremely fine brush.
▪ Current situation:
Demand has dropped dramatically due to the shift to printing and stamps.
It is said that there are fewer than 10 people in the entire country, and there are very few young successors.
2. Ise Katagami Carving Technique | Mie Prefecture
This technique involves joining two blades together to create a blade (called a "tool") in the shape of a petal, fan, diamond, square, rice grain, geometric pattern, etc., and then using the tool to carve out those shapes with a single thrust.
▪ Content:
A technique for carving precise stencils for stencil dyeing, such as for komon and yuzen dyeing, with a carving knife.
The lines are as thin as a hair, and it is a mind-numbing amount of manual work.
▪ Current situation:
The number of orders is decreasing due to the decline in Japanese clothing.
An extremely high level of skill needs to be passed on, and there is little progress in training successors.
3. Indigo dyeing (aikatazome)
What kind of dyeing is indigo dyeing? Generally speaking, it refers to Okinawan indigo dyeing that uses stencils. Indigo dyeing, like the indigo dyeing produced in mainland Japan, is a dyeing that has been loved by the common people. It is not as spectacular as Bingata, but it is calm like the deep sea, and you can feel the warmth that envelops you.
▪ Description:
A traditional technique in which a dye-resistant paste is applied to the fabric using a stencil, and then the fabric is dyed with indigo.
Widely used for Edo komon and yukata fabrics.
▪ Current situation:
The work is mundane and long-term, and the craftsmen are aging.
With the rise of modern dyeing, the technique itself is disappearing in some areas.
4. Hikizome (drawing dyeing)
"Hikizome" is so named because the dye is applied to a brush and then pulled to dye the fabric. The end of the roll of cloth is clamped between a stretching bar and stretched taut with a tensioner, and the cloth is dyed all at once. To prevent unevenness, the dyeing process cannot be stopped once it has begun, and the dyeing process changes depending on the temperature and humidity, so the skill of the craftsman is required.
▪ Description:
The technique of dyeing fabric evenly with a large brush (such as Yuzen and ground dyeing for formal kimonos).
A skilled technique that adjusts gradations by hand and sense.
▪ Current situation:
Many hikizome workshops have gone out of business, and large-scale production is limited to a few places, such as Kyoto.
There are very few young craftsmen willing to take up the job.
5. The hand-painted process of Kyo-Yuzen (tegaki yuzen)
Hand-painted Yuzen is a dyeing technique that involves painting with a brush. It is characterized by the way that the colors are hand-painted, one stroke at a time, on white fabric, based on a sketch drawn on a painting.
▪ Content:
Hand-painted yuzen is done by drawing a design and dyeing each color one stroke at a time.
It involves multiple steps: dyeing, applying glue, steaming, and washing.
▪ Current situation:
In the wake of digitally printed "inkjet yuzen,"
genuine hand-painted yuzen is treated as a luxury item and barely sells.
6. Surihaku (gold leaf decoration)
Surihaku is a decorative technique for gluing gold leaf, silver leaf, mica, etc. to fabrics using glue such as paste[1], or objects made from such a technique[1]. The fabrics are often ramie, gauze, satin, or satin, and sometimes a stencil with a pattern carved into it is placed on top to reveal the pattern[1]. It is also called suribaku or inkin[1].
▪ What it is:
A glittering decorative technique (for Noh costumes, uchikake, etc.) in which gold leaf is rubbed onto fabric to create patterns.
It is extremely difficult, as it involves handling both silk and gold leaf.
▪ Current situation:
It is rarely used in modern times, and is limited to some Noh costumes and wedding costumes.
7. Hand-braided Kumihimo (braided cord) techniques | Iga, Kyoto, etc.
Kumihimo is a traditional Japanese craft made mainly from thin silk or cotton threads.
Like knitting and weaving, it is classified as a type of textile technique called braiding. It is broadly divided into three types: square "Kakuuchihimo," flat ribbon-like "Hirauchihimo," and round "Maruuchihimo."
▪ Content:
A technique for braiding kimono obi-jime (belt fasteners) and haori-himo (Japanese coat cords) by hand.
It can be mechanized, but the beauty of hand-braided cords is in a class of its own.
▪ Current situation:
The number of workshops has drastically decreased. There are only a few craftsmen who can use the traditional kumidai (braiding table).
8. Plant dyeing (dyeing technique using natural dyes)
The method of dyeing with natural plants is called "plant dyeing". Almost all plants can be used as dyes. Japan is a temperate region with four seasons and a lot of rain, so there is an extremely wide variety of plants, and it is thought that the culture of dyeing and dyeing has developed there.
▪ Content:
Traditional dyeing using dyes derived from natural sources such as plants, bark, and fruit.
Used to express the base color and patterns of kimonos.
▪ Current situation:
Dramatically decreased due to the spread of chemical dyes.
Knowledge of medicinal properties, compounding, and mordants is too specialized, making it difficult to pass on.
9. Hand-pulled silk thread
▪ What it is:
The silkworm cocoons are boiled and stretched, then turned into silk floss, which is then pulled out and twisted by hand to create a fine thread.
It is used in high-quality tsumugi such as Yuki tsumugi and Oshima tsumugi.
The softness, lightness, and texture that can only be achieved by hand-pulling are its appeal.
▪ Current situation:
Because it is done by hand, it takes time and effort, and the number of people who can continue the craft has drastically decreased.
Currently, only a few workshops across the country continue to make the craft.
10. Zaguriito (reeling thread)
▪ Description:
The technique of reeling thread from cocoons using a hand-cranked "zaguriito" (reeling machine).
A traditional technique for making strong yet soft raw silk.
It was important as the "raw silk" for silk fabrics.
▪ Current situation:
As factory-based machine reeling has become mainstream, zaguriito craftsmen are aging.
It is only being passed down in small numbers in Gunma and Fukushima.
11. Ramie thread (chomaito) / Hand-spun thread (teumiito)
▪ Description:
A technique for hand-spun thread made from ramie or hemp, used for kimonos and linen.
Used in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures for Echigo Jofu, Ojiya Chijimi, and Aizu Jofu.
▪ Current situation:
Cultivating ramie has become difficult.
There are only a few dozen people nationwide who can spin by hand, and the number is decreasing every year.
12. Urushiito (Lacquer Thread)
▪ Description:
Decorative thread used in luxury textiles, made by applying lacquer to silk thread or washi paper.
Used in Nishijin-ori, Noh costumes, and uchikake.
▪ Current situation:
Both the materials and the work are highly advanced and time-consuming, and there are very few craftsmen who can produce it.
It is being replaced by alternative materials, and the technique itself is on the verge of disappearance.
13. Gold and silver threads (real gold threads)
Contents:
Gold and silver leaf is pasted onto washi paper, cut into thin strips, and wrapped around thread.
Widely used for formal kimonos such as furisode, tomesode, and obi.
Current situation:
Real gold leaf has become very expensive, and substitutes such as glitter and synthetic fibers have become mainstream.
Many craftsmen have gone out of business, and genuine gold thread production is only continued in very limited places.
14. Silk twisting (kennenshi) / Hand-twisted thread
▪ Content:
The technique of twisting silk thread to the required thickness and hardness.
Delicate twisting is required for different applications, such as belt thread, sewing thread, and braided cord.
▪ Current situation:
Many small-scale twisting factories have gone out of business due to the deterioration of twisting machines and aging craftsmen.
There are very few people in the country who can do hand twisting.
There are many other traditional techniques in Japan that are on the verge of disappearing. My specialty is thread. I want to continue to spread the wonderful threads made by the craftsmen of Kyoto Nishijin to the whole world, so that people all over the world can pick up threads and experience the wonderful techniques.
