Nishi-Nippori is an awesome place for shopping for fabric in Tokyo.  In fact, there are so many shops and so many choices that it might make you a bit crazy…  but anyway, if you go there, there is a cool used kimono shop caller RIVERSIDE (I think).

I met my first KASURI MONPE at Riverside, it was maybe 1000yen.  It became my hatake pants.  the woven fabric is perfect for hot days in my indigo field.  The fabric is breatheable, washable, and dries so fast!!!  On it, it had a tag saying KURUME, which is the name of a city on the island of Kyushu.  I knew I wanted to visit one day, and

I was just there slightly coincidentally, and was able to visit two kasuri factories, to discover that kasuri and indigo are very closely connected.  Apparently a long time ago, most houses in the area had weaving looms to weave kasuri.

Kasuri 絣, is a weaving technique where cotton thread is dyed before weaving, to create various designs.  Now kasuri could be machine woven or dyed with chemical dyes but originally it was mostly handwoven and dyed with indigo, meaning moslty two-colors (white and indigo blue).  After the design is created, the thread is marked, and then the places on the thread that are to stay white are tied with hemp thread, this thread is then dyed in very large indigo vats and when woven, the pattern shows up.  so simple and so beautiful.  Just like with indigo dyeing, the steps are usually done by different people.  It could be one person designing, one person treating the thread, one person dyeing, another weaving, and lastly, a person making clothes out of the cloth (kimonos for example)  The width is about 2000 threads I think.  so much work.  At the Ogata studio I visited (http://ogatakasuri.com/), mother and daughter work together, mother making kasuri designs and weaving, daughter mostly dying with indigo, making clothes for her brand called AIGOTO, made in Japan, of Japanese materials.  I felt a little sad to see the weaving looms are slowly retiring, because there is not a big need for handwoven kasuri anymore.

At the Ikeda weaving factory, I was able to see how they prepared the thread for weaving, and see many women at work.

 

東京で生地を買うとなると、西日暮里！そこで、私の大好きなお店があります：古着の浴衣や着物を売っているお店：ラバーサイドというお店です。

そこで初めて、絣のもんぺと出逢いました。多分、１０００円。このもんぺが、畑で履くズボンになりました。藍の畑は夏が忙しく、暑い日にはもんぺが最高です！呼吸制があって、洗濯もできて、すぐに乾く！最高〜このもんぺのタグには久留米と書いてあって、そこから、いつかは久留米市に行ってみたいのだと思っていました。たまたま福岡に行く用があって、車で今日はどこ行こうか、と決める時に久留米市が出て来たので、なんの準備もなしに、行く事になって、急なのに、絣の織物をしているところ、２箇所見せてもらいました。そこでびっくりしたのは、藍と絣の関係がすごくあったという事！久留米市では昔はほとんどの家では織り機があって、絣の記事を織っていたそうです。

Kasuri 絣, is a weaving technique where cotton thread is dyed before weaving, to create various designs.  Now kasuri could be machine woven or dyed with chemical dyes but originally it was mostly handwoven and dyed with indigo, meaning moslty two-colors (white and indigo blue).  After the design is created, the thread is marked, and then the places on the thread that are to stay white are tied with hemp thread, this thread is then dyed in very large indigo vats and when woven, the pattern shows up.  so simple and so beautiful.  Just like with indigo dyeing, the steps are usually done by different people.  It could be one person designing, one person treating the thread, one person dyeing, another weaving, and lastly, a person making clothes out of the cloth (kimonos for example)  The width is about 2000 threads I think.  so much work.  At the Ogata studio I visited (http://ogatakasuri.com/), mother and daughter work together, mother making kasuri designs and weaving, daughter mostly dying with indigo, making clothes for her brand called AIGOTO, made in Japan, of Japanese materials.  I felt a little sad to see the weaving looms are slowly retiring, because there is not a big need for handwoven kasuri anymore.

At the Ikeda weaving factory, I was able to see how they prepared the thread for weaving, and see many women at work.