We stock a wide range of traditional craft Tsumugi Kimono fabrics,
working with more than 50 different weavers and local artisans across Japan.
Our fabrics reflect a thorough commitment to finest quality
and a respect for traditions and Japanese textile craftsmanship.
Yuki Tsumugi
結城紬 Yuki tsumugi
Made in : Yuki city, Ibaraki and Oyama city, Tochigi
Our collection : Solid colors, stripes, checks and various Kasuri. About 50 bolts in stock year-round. Custom-desing order available from one bolt.
Astonishingly, the whole yarns woven are handspun directly by fingers, pulling out the extra fine strands from silk floss while bonding them with saliva. It’s the most exquisite silk handspun technique among many Tsumugi traditions, also unlike any other in the world.
The authentic Yuki tsumugi is handwoven by a Japanese oldest loom, called ‘Jibata’, which requires weaver's whole body for weaving. The entire process involves seasoned handcraft workmanship and crystallizes into a topmost silk fabric.
The texture is different from any other. It is as if wearing a silk floss sheet. The more it is worn, the better it fits the body.
As the Yuki tsumugi tradition has been kept alive over centuries, it was inscribed as a Nationally Important Cultural Heritage by the government in 1956 and listed to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010.
Today, The authentic Yuki tsumugi woven by a Jibata loom is produced with only several hundred bolts annually, as it requires highly sophisticated craftsmanship that only limited artisans can involve.
We, Hirota Tsumugi, have been constantly producing the Yuki tsumugi woven by a Jibata loom from our foundation. That reflects our strong belief that we would like to supply the supreme Tsumugi in the best possible light.
Made in : Amami Oshima island and Kagoshima city, Kagoshima
Our collection : Various traditional and modern design Kasuri patterns, about 100 ~ 300 bolts in stock year-round. Custom-design order available from 8 bolts.
Oshima tsumugi is known to be one of the highest quality silk Kimono weavings along with Yuki tsumugi in Japan. Traditionally Oshima tsumugi, as literally, used to be woven with tsumugi yarns, but today has evoloved into an extremely smooth silk weaving by employing a reeled silk.
Oshima tsumugi has the world’s most precise ikat technique wherein the tiniest dots crossed by an individual warp and weft yarn construct the whole pattern. The ikat and weaving process is meticulous far beyond our imagination.
Oshima's ikat is very unique unlike any other in the world in a way that employs a handloom called ‘Shimebata’ for tightly binding bundles of yarns by weaving them in the tiniest units for the resist dyeing.
Then, the dyed yarns are woven one by one by a handloom, while meticulously adjusting the individual dots, which takes a whole day for weaving a 10cm depending on the patterns.
It is a miracle that such an astonishing handcraft weaving tradition has developed in a small tropical island and is still alive today.
Not only the ikat weaving, but also the dyeing technique is remarkable. Oshima’s black is produced by the traditional mud dyeing which repeatedly dyes between te-chi tree boiled water and paddy field mud over 100 times.
Made in : Ida city, Nagano
Our collection : Original design tsumugi, over 100 bolts in stock year-round. Custom design order with wider width(max 110cm) available from 2 bots.
Shimoi tsumugi is a tsumugi bearing a traditional weaving craftsman’s name, “Shimoi Nobuhiko” based in Ida city, Nagano. He used to work as a textile designer in a fashion market and then took over his father's Ida tsumugi mill. Taking advantage of his experience at a modern fashion market, his artistic contemporary taste are fused with the traditional Tsumugi weaving, resulting in his flexible and innovative Tsumugi production.
While Tsumugi is usually a division of labor at different crafting stages, Shimoi’s mill operates all stages by himself, including silk throwing, dyeing and weaving. In other words, it represents his uncompromising commitment to producing his own Tsumugi and to the finest quality.
He spins his ideal silk by himself, and dye it based on natural plant dyes which always requires combining many dyeing materials and repeatedly dye it again and again until it reaches his ideal color. Furthermore, he specializes in and makes full use of numerous different traditional tsumugi weaving techniques including Hana-ori, twill, Yoshino-kando and Kasuri weave.
We have been working with him for over 10 years closely for constantly producing a one-of-kind beautiful and finest quality tsumugi silk fabric. Basically Shimoi tsumugi is woven in 2 bolts and we stock them monthly, but everything is new one. We have a vast amount of swatch books produced so far, so the custom design order of Shimoi tsumugi from the swatches has great acceptance.
'Honshu’ refers to the main island of Japan. In this long island from North to South
a rich diversity of weaving traditions remains throughout, including the heavy snowfall areas of Hokuriku and Shinshu.
We introduce our collection from Honshu as follows from North to South.
Echigo Jofu 越後上布 / Ojiya Chijimi 小千谷縮
Made in : Uonuma city and Ojiya city, Nigata / Material : Ramie 100%
Echigo Jofu is a handspun and handwoven lightweight ramie textile traditionally woven in the heavy snowfall area of Uonuma and Ojiya city, Nigata. Along with Miyako jofu, it is the highest quality ‘Jofu’(handspun ramie) fabric in Japan.
making of yarn starts with removing the outer skins of the ramie stalks after soaking it in clear water for several hours, and the bundles of whilte ramie fibers are dried outside. The fibers are then split by fingernails and twisted into an extra fine thread while giving maisture it with saliva in her mouth. This handspinning (hand-plying) technique is called ’Oumi 苧績み ’, which produces only a few gram of it in one day.
This extra fine yarns are dyed, warped and handwoven by ‘Jibata’ back-strap loom. The yarns are too vulnerable to break, so that it cannot be woven even by a floor handloom. The handweaving process requires meticulous care and takes at least 3 months.
Finally, it is completed with ‘Yukizarashi 雪晒し’, in which the fabric is placed on the snow covered fields for ten to twenty days to be lightened by the sun for gaining the natural bleaching effect.
Ojiya Chijimi is the crepe type Echigo jofu, which has the extra twist on the weft yarn so that the fabric surface has the crepe wrinkled texture.
Both of them are designated as UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage. The annual production numbers are only a few bolts for Ojiya Chijimi and a few dozen for Echigo Jofu, almost becoming a phantom fabric.
Today the machinery woven Ojiya Chijimi using a machinery spun ramie are sold in retail Kimono stores, but the authentic Echigo jofu and Ojiya Chijimi can be only found in a limited number of Kimono wholesalers.
Made in : Tokamachi city, Nigata / Material : Silk 100%
Akashi Chijimi is a translucent silk crepe textile made for a summer silk kimono, traditionally woven in Tokamachi, Nigata.
Using the hard twisted raw silk for the weft yarn, gives the texture a dry and smooth touch, and helps to create the see-through effect with the unique woven wavy stripes.
The waves are produced by the unique wave reed called ‘Namiosa 波筬’, which creates the wavy gaps between the warp yarns. The hard twisted raw silk helps to keep the wave pattern as it is woven.
Now only two weavers in Tokamachi produce Akashi Chijimi. The technique of dyeing gradational colors and of handling the Namiosa reed cannot be imitated by other weavers.
Made in : Matsumoto city, Nagano / Silk 100%
Our collection : Around 20 bolts in stock year-round. Custom design order available from one bolt.
2 female artists, Yokouchi Kayoko and Daijima Mitsuko work together for weaving their original tsumugi silk based in Matsumoto, Nagano. Their mill was started in 2001 and continues to weave tsumugi for over 20 years. Both of them had learned weaving under Hongo Takayuki, a famous tsumugi weaving artist who was a protege of a legendary weaver Yanagi Yoshihiro, a nephew of Yanagi Soetsu, the founder of the Mingei (fold art and craft) movement in Japan.
Their principal philosophy based on the Mingei idea is to consider Kimono as a practical everyday wear and pursue to weave a fabric with the silk yarns at its ultimate condition in order to fit the wearer's body perfectly even just after it is newly-tailored into a Kimono.
Only selecting a finest ’Zaguri 座繰’ silk yarn that is handspun by a Japanese spinning wheel, they dye all colors from various plant dyes and weaving by a floor handloom with a traditional bamboo reed. They use the bamboo reed (today almost no artisans are able to make the bamboo reed) instead of widely-used stainless reeds, because it does not damage the warp and weft yarns when beating the reed into the cloth.
No other fabrics could be similar like their fabrics, which you may understand when you touch them. Along with the natural colors dyed from plants, their subtle senses and attitudes towards each crafting process involving their weaving, makes their fabrics to have its own identity.
Their Tsumugi silk has an amazing drape while it is a freshly fabric, which give an extremely comfortable fit and brings out the best in beauty of women.
Made in : Tsunan, Nigata / Silk 100%
Our collection : About 20 bolts in stock year-round
Matsumoto Hidetoshi and Huiko are a husband and wife who weave 100% plant dyed, handwoven tsumugi silk in a heavy snowy area of Uonuma region, at Tsunan, Niigata prefecture.
Their silk weaving reflects their natural-based lifestyle in the rural secluded mountain village.
All the colors are dyed from the different plants that Hidetoshi collects from the mountains around.
Moreover, they use straw ashes for the silk degumming material, in which they collect the straw from their own paddy field where they do organic farming at the same time.
Weaving is Humiko’s part, handwoven by a floor loom. Their tsumugi are all simple line up such as solid color, stripes or checks. The colors and texture are breathtaking.
Made in Hachijo island, Tokyo : / Silk 100%
Our collection : About 20 bolts in stock year-round
Hachijo island is a small island about 300km south of Tokyo over the ocean. It’s a small isolated island, populated by just about 7,000 people. In this island, 100% plant dyed, striped and checked silk are traditionally woven.
The silk weaving history in this island can be traced back to over 1,000 years, and the finest yellow checked or striped silk Kimono we know today has became famous during the Edo period, worn especially by young women of ‘Chonin 町人’, a merchant social class.
Kihachijo only uses only 3 colors with 3 natural materials; yellow from ‘Kariyasu 苅安’, jointhead arthraxon, brown from the bark of ‘Madami マダミ‘ Japanese bay tree and black from the bark of ‘Shii 椎’ Japanese chinquapin tree.
The bright golden yellow is uniquely dyed from the infused water of Kariyasu and mordantized with lye from camellia and Japanese cleyera leaves. Alos, the deep black is mordanted with mud.
All colors are the islands’ natural gifts dyed by a local craftsman. This unique, beautiful silk thoroughly reflects the culture, tradition and nature of Hachijo island.
Made in : The Easten lake district of Biwako, Shiga / Ramie 100%
Our collection : Around 50 bolts stocked in February for summer Kimono wholesale
Omi Chijimi is a ramie crepe textile, traditionally woven in the Eastern lakeside area of the Japan’s biggest lake, ’Biwako 琵琶湖’.
Omi Chijimi has a unique and sophisticated weaving technique, creating ’Shibo’ (crease, wrinkle texture) on ramie fabrics. Shibo is created by hand-massaging by a craftsman.
Shibo is a wisdom of Japanese ancestors on being comfortable in hot and humid summer, in which the wrinkle and dry texture can reduce stickiness on skin and allow airflow between fabric-skin, so that cooling sensation would be highest among any other fabrics.
Ramie fibers are relatively stiff and ordinary ramie fabrics sometimes feel scratchy. Omi Chijimi ramie is a very smooth and gentle touch thanks to its unique insoluble Konjac pasting process of ramie yarns before weaving.
The ramie fabric is not only ideal for a summer Kimono or Yukata, but also for fashion or interior projects such as shirts, summer dresses, or cushion cloth.
The Okinawa islands are a subtropical island group of the southern end of Japan.
The small islands nurtured and preserved an astonishingly rich diversity of unique textile traditions.
The Ryukyu kingdom had been politically and culturally independent and the trading hub between Asian countries for over 450 years,
absorbing the diverse cultures and techniques,and developed the highly distinctive weaving cultures.
Tsumugi from Okinawa reflects its beautiful natural climate and indigenous cultures and craftsmanship.
Kumejima Tsumugi 久米島紬
Made in Kume island, Okinawa : / Silk 100%
Our collection : About 20 bolts in stock year-round
Kumejima Tsumugi is a silk tsumugi weaving, woven in Kume island, about 100 km west of the main island of Okinawa, populated by about 7,000 people. One of the oldest Tsumugi weaving traditions in Japan, considered to be one of the archetypes of Tsumugi silk weaving.
Handspun Tsumugi yarns are dyed by plant dyes all indigenous to the island.
Main plants material used for dyeing are...
- Roots of Catbrier tree for Brown
- Barks of Okinawa yeddo hawthorn tree, using for mud-dyeing for Black
- Ash of Okinawa Malvaceae tree for Silver and Gray
- Barks of Myrtle or Nakaharae tree for Yellow
- Leaf of Sugar cane for Green
And many more... sometimes combined for making a color, which characterizes the distinctive sober colors.
All the crafting processes are carried out by one artisan, even from making of design, spinning, collecting of plants, Kasuri ikat binding and weaving. The degree of proficiency of each individual craft artisan directly reflects its quality. Therefore, they have an uncompromising commitment to it.
After the fabric is woven, it is beaten by a wooden hammer over several hundred times throughout the fabric. This traditional step, called ‘Kinuta uchi 砧打ち’’, soften the Tsumugi silk fibers. Kumejima Tsumugi silk texture is gentle as well as freshy.
Made in Miyako island, Okinawa : / Ramie 100%
Our collection : About 10 bolts including Kimono and obi fabrics in stock year-round
Known as the highest quality handspun and handwoven ramie ‘Jofu’ in Japan, along with Echigo jofu. Miyako Jofu is also a fantom disappearing fabric, only produced around 10~20 bolts annually. Its handcrafting process is amazingly ardrous. One of the most time-consuming handcraft weaving in Japan.
The texture is amazingly thin and light as if paper thanks to its ultra fine handspun ramie threads. It starts from splitting and hand-plying ramie fibers into the extra fine strand as much thinner as a strand of hair by fingernails. The strands are twisted together into a thread.
For making a Kimono, it requires ninety thousand strands and takes about 3 or 4 months just for the hand-spinning.
Moreover, the Kasuri patterns consisted of the tiny crossed dots, which employs ‘Shimebata 締機’ handloom for binding the threads, same as Oshima Tsumugi. The colors are all natural dyes, mainly by Aizome, mud or various plants.
While weaving, a seasoned female artisan experienced for over 50 years, uses a needle for adjusting the tiny dots and is only able to weave 20cm in a day.
Finally, the fabric is beaten by a wooden hammer called ‘Kinutauchi 砧打ち’ over twenty thaunsand times in a steady rhythm and same angle without damaging it, which gives the ramie fabric gloss and luster more than a silk fabric.
Made in : Naha city, Okinawa
Our collection : Mainly Obi fabric, about 20 bolts in stock year-round
‘Shuri 首里’ was flourished as a castletown of the Ryukyu dynasty for around 500 years. Shuri Ori refers to a range of the traditinoal woven textiles and weaving techniques developed for the upper social status of the dynasty.
A wide variety of textiles were uniquely developed and highly sophisticated towards the different status including the royal families, aristocrats and Samurai. Because of WW2, those traditions were about to vanish.
Thanks to the indispensable figures including Miyahara Hatsuko (National Treasure) or Shukumine Kyoko, the 7 different weaving techniques (Shuri Hanaori 首里花織, Rotonori 道屯織, Hanakuraori 花倉織, Murudotsuchiri 諸取切, Teijima 手縞, Nigashi Bashofu 煮綛芭蕉布, Hanaori teisaji 花織手巾) were revived and handed down until today.
The main material is silk, but sometimes various materials are used such as cotton, ramie or Basho. The dyeing materials are mainly plants including Ryukyu Ai, Hukugi, Shibuki and Koro.
Shuri Ori reflects the history and culture of the Ryukyu dynasty itself, and has distinctively gorgeous and graceful styles.
Made in Yomitan village, Okinawa : / Silk 100%
Our collection : About 10 bolts in stock year-round
Yomitanzan Hanaori is a silk weaving characterized by its extravagant ‘Hanaori 花織’ woven pattern, made in Yomitan village in the main island of Okinawa.
Hanaori is a type of complex float weave technique, in which the floated colorful plant-dyed yarns on fabric surface creates the traditional floral and geometric woven pattern. The fabric wrong side has numerous under threads, which requires lining cloth for tailoring a Kimono or any garment.
Yomitanzan Hanaori had been exclusively worn by the members of the royal families and strictly banned from wearing for those local majority during the Ryukyu dynasty.
Because of WW2, it was almost vanishing away. But, thanks to the extraordinary effort by Yonamide Sada (a Japan’s National treasure) and local sympathizers, it was able to revive.
Among many Hanaori textiles in Okinawa, Yomitanzan Hanaori has the most subtropical oriented design with its vivid colors and patterns. The three main traditional patterns, Jinbana 銭花, Ojibana 扇花 and Kajimayabana 風車, are combined and arranged with four different weaving techniques.
Basho fu 芭蕉布 / Shina fu 科布 / Kudzu fu 葛布 / Shi fu 紙布 / Huji fu 藤布
Shizen fu 自然布 describes a range of the ancient textiles in Japan made out of various bast-fibers in which each indigenous people collects and weaves those materials for making their own cloth before the wide adaptation of cotton.
- Basho fu made of Banana tree
- Shina fu made of Shina linden tree
- Kudze fu made of Kuzdu
- Shi fu made of Washi paper from Kozo or Mitsumata
- Huji made of wisteria
From those plants, the stem barks or bast fibers are used, which are all hard materials and require enormous time and effort for making a yarn by hand-spinning (hand-plying).
Many Shizen fu traditions have already died out, still It’s a miracle that those traditions have been handed down across Japan until today.
Made in Tango, Kyoto : / Silk 100%
Our collection : some of the fabrics can be purchased from our Etsy store
Tango Chirimen “丹後ちりめん” is a crepe silk fabric made in Tongo, Kyoto, exclusively used for a finest Kimono white cloth. Today, it covers about 70% of the kimono silk fabrics.
Tango has the silk weaving history for over 1,300years, and the silk crepe tradition for over 3,00 years. The reliance for silk quality and producing capacity develops a sold brand for a Kimono white cloth.
The silk crepe weaving technique may be unparalleled in the world. The silk crepe texture is extremely smooth, but at the same time, resilient fabric, unlike any other silk fabrics.
Made in : Kyoto
Our collection : Mainly Obi fabrics about 40 bolts in stock year-round. Custom design and custom dyeing on your favorite fabrics available.
Sawada Maiko is a Kyo-Bingata style Kataezome (stencil dye) female artist based in Kyoto, one of the very few younger dye artists. Born and grew up in Nigata, she came to Kyoto and worked at a Kyo-Bingata mill for over 20 years.
She became an independent artist from 2017 and we have been working together for producing mainly obi fabrics.
From carving stencils to hand-brush coloring, she crafts all steps by herself and constantly produces her distinctive, refreshing dye artworks.
We can hear your custom dying request on your favorite fabrics including wider width fabrics. Based on her stencils, whole hearing your prefered color arrangements, we are glad to hear and work wirh your custom order.
Made in : The main island of Okinawa
Our collection : Mainly Obi fabrics about 20 bolts in stock year-round.
Ryukyu Bingata refers to Okinawa's traditional dye technique, using pigments and plant dyes, based on 5 colors: Red, Yellow, Blue, Purple and Green.
What is striking is its bold colors and remarkably distinctive design influenced by its tropical natural environments as well as Okinawa’s dynamic culture. Any similar color combinations or aesthetic expression can be seen across the world, in which you can tell that it’s Ryukyu Bingata from just one look.
Our Ryukyu Bingata collection focuses on Katatsuke technique, a stencil technique that uses a paper pattern, which include Tamanaha, Chinen and Shiroma family’s Bingata (the legendary families).
Ryukyu Bingata’s patterns are all carefully hand-painted by artisans after applying resist pasting by the stencil. Its dynamic and exquisite expression on fabric cannot be imitated by Inkjet print or roll stencil dye, which reflects deep traditions and craftsmanship.
The word “紬, Tsumugi” consists of “糸 yarn” and “由 draw out”, implying the primitive act of spinning a yarn by fingers directly pinching off from natural materials, such as cocoon’s silk floss or plants’ bast-fibers.
A huge variety of materials and techniques are seen at the different parts of Japan.
While ikat traditions are seen widely in Asia, Kasuri yarn-dyeing techniques have developed diversly and distinctively in Japan. Each traditions are highly developed and the diffenret techniques create the differnet tastes and beauty on fabrics.
Dyed by organic dyes using local plants create subtle and tranquil colors —colors gifted from nature, which are completely different from vivid and colorful chemical dyeing.
A handloom can only weave the handspun yarns because such handspun yarns are so delicate and fine that cannot be woven by a power loom. Also handwoven fabrics have totally different texture compared with the fabrics woven by a power loom.
Traditionally a floor loom and back-strap loom are used for handweaving in Japan. It is said that the personality of the weaver influences the texture of the textile.
