Mr. Katsuyama and Mr. Shimura don't use machines for reeling the thread. When degumming the silk they only use straw ash solution. They use natural dye. The weaving is done with hands, not by machines. Beaten with a wood block called Kinuta, the fabric assumes rich texture just like the ancient fabric that Mr. Katsuyama once saw.
The fabrics made through this process are called "Usuhaginu". Only 4 kimonos and 100 obis are made through the process every year. Mr. Katsuyama sells his kimono and obis mainly at his exhibitions.
People who have tried his Usuhaginu kimono and obi are first amazed at its light weight, and impressed with its graceful look. The obi only weighs half as the normal ones, yet it keeps good shape after being tied. It has been 6 years since Mr. Katsuyama started marketing Usuhaginu obis. One of his clients loves them so much that she has over 20 of them!
Understandably, the Usuhaginu kimono and obi are pricey. Mr. Katsuyama hopes that a person who wears them really enjoys the experience.
Usuhaginu fabric for obi
Usuhaginu fabric for kimono
A silkworm changes to a pupa in the cocoon, and about 10 days later it comes out of the cocoon as a moth, tearing the silk thread into pieces. In order to secure the long silk thread intact, it is necessary to keep the pupa inside cocoon. The most common method to store cocoons is to dry them with hot air. Other methods include steaming, sun drying, and cooling cocoons. People also used to salt cocoons to store them, but this method has long been abandoned.
Takeshi Katsuyama is the 5th generation obi maker in Nishijin, Kyoto. He once had a chance to see a piece of centuries old silk fabric, and was fascinated by its beautiful texture. He tried to replicate the fabric using any and all the silk yarn available in Nishijin, but this was in vain.
While he was pursuing his ultimate silk, he met Akira Shimura, who had been pursuing the same goal. Their collaboration started with opening a sericulture farm together in Nagano Prefecture. They selected a specific kind of mulberry tree, which had ceased to be grown for over 100 years. They also picked old species of silkworms.
Mr. Katsuyama and Mr. Shimura agreed to the method of storing cocoons, too. They chose salting cocoons, because this method gave the silk thread shinier, softer texture.
Mr. Katsuyama
Mr. Tawara cleared the first hurdle: to secure high quality silk cocoons from farmers. The next hurdle was to find a silk mill that produced high quality silk yarn. Once there were over 50 silk mills in Japan. Now only two major ones remain. After talking to the owner, Mr. Tawara chose Matsuoka Silk Mill in Yamagata Prefecture.
Matsuoka started its operation in 1887 as a silk mill, but now a days raw silk production comprises less than 10% of its total revenue. Most revenue comes from its cutting edge businesses such as electronic components and aviation parts. Since Matsuoka has diversified into more profitable businesses, it can afford to continue the loss-making business of milling silk.
When the "Japanese Silk" branding started in 2007, Chiso was the first company to be registered in the program. The collaboration group led by Chiso tries to maintain transparency among all the member companies. They hold a conference annually to exchange ideas, and set rules for pricing products. The member sericulture farmers take active roles. They visit other sericulture farmers to learn best practices. They visit other constituents such as the silk mill, fabric weavers, and also Chiso's headquarters in Kyoto. Chiso's group website lists all the growers with their profile photos.
"It's not all about business. I just want to be proud of ourselves", says Mr. Tawara humbly of his achievement. Now over 90% of Chiso's high-end product lines and 100% of their original brand "Yume Tachibana (夢立花)" Furisodes, use Japanese silk.
Chico's alliance members gathered to celebrate its 460th anniversary.
In order to make sure that Chiso's kimonos were made of Japanese silk, Mr. Tawara needed to secure reliable suppliers; sericulture farmers that could constantly provide high quality silk cocoons. A decade ago, however, raw silk production was controlled by Japan's agricultural cooperatives. The basic rule was that purchasers like Chiso didn't have access to individual farmers.
When the government conducted research reviewing the existing system of the silk industry, Chiso was one of interviewees. After presenting his idea, Mr. Tawara was rewarded with an introduction to two of the cooperatives in Iwate Prefecture that had a similar idea.
Mr.Tawara met with the farmers and explained to them his idea. The farmers were unresponsive. Only at the banquet after the meeting, while sipping sake together, Mr. Tawara learned why the farmers were skeptical. In the past many "great opportunities" had been presented, only to result in disappointment.
Mr. Tawara didn't give in. He visited as many sericulture farmers in Japan as possible, presented Chiso's plan to make kimonos with Japanese silk, and encouraged farmers to join an alliance with Chiso. Around 60 sericulture farmers signed up.
Furisode by Chiso "Yumetachibana(夢立花)"
Ten years ago, Takeshi Tawara transferred to the sourcing department at Chiso, a high-end kimono maker and wholesaler founded in Kyoto in 1555. He was shocked at what he found there.
He had assumed that all of his company's kimonos were made of silk also produced in Japan. He was wrong. Most of the fabrics used silk made elsewhere, mainly in China and Brazil.
Is this fair to Chiso's customers? It's not that silk produced abroad is any inferior to Japanese silk. But if we boast about Japanese kimonos, shouldn't they be made of Japanese silk? Now that he was in charge of sourcing, Mr. Tawara wanted to change the situation. How could he ensure that Chiso's kimonos are made of Japanese silk?
Furisode by Chiso "Yumetachibana(夢立花)"
Washi paper has also been one of the important materials for making clothes in Japan. Thinly severed, Washi paper is woven into textile.
On Washi paper, shippaku (漆箔) master craftsman Mr. Saito spreads Urushi sap very thin, and places also very thin gold films one by one evenly. He does it so effortlessly, a technique that can be mastered only after years of years of practice.
Used as part of weft, the paper thread is woven to create a beautiful Obi.
Many thanks to Mr. Saito, Mr. Katsuyama, and Ms. Horie for giving me an opportunity to see the whole process of obi making.
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