[Yamagata Prefecture] Weaving is popular in the Okitama region of Yamagata Prefecture. I tried weaving in a textile town!

  • ikoke
  • Last updated: 2024.06.12

The Okitama region, located in the southern inland area of ​​Yamagata Prefecture, is divided into three cities and five towns: Yonezawa City, Takabatake Town, Nanyo City, Shirataka Town, Nagai City, Kawanishi Town, Iide Town, and Oguni Town. Divided. Weaving has been flourishing in Yonezawa City, Shirataka Town, and Nagai City since ancient times.

Starting with the cultivation of green moss, sericulture also flourished, and the textile culture took root deeply, continuing to this day. Later, it was collectively called Okitama Tsumugi and designated as a national traditional craft.

Link: Japan Traditional Culture Promotion Organization HP – Okitama Tsumugi

Along the way, it almost fell into decline due to the introduction of chemical fibers, but thanks to the efforts of weavers, it has been handed down to the present day and is still very popular among kimono enthusiasts.

I would like to highlight weaving, which is also known as a traditional craft. I also tried weaving, so I'd like to introduce you to it as well.

What is weaving? I want to know a little more!

photo by ikoke

Throughout Japan, each region has developed unique textiles that suit the region. There are a variety of textiles in the Okitama region, among which ``Yoneori'', ``Shirataka Tsumugi'', and ``Nagai Tsumugi'' are still famous.

The characteristics of each will be explained later.

In addition to farming, weavers cultivated sericulture to make cocoons and made silk fabrics as a source of income. There was a time when silk fabrics were only allowed to people of the upper class such as aristocrats. Common people could only use linen and cotton fabrics.

Nowadays, hemp has become a luxury item, but does that mean that things will change over time?

Textile culture is said to have existed since the Jomon period. During the Edo period, as technology improved and sericulture became popular, silk textiles became popular.

In the Meiji period, looms became larger and mechanization led to the industrialization of textiles that continues to this day. As industrialization progressed, the number of weavers decreased.

Even now, the number of weaving products has decreased, but handloom craftsmen continue to weave and strive to keep the tradition alive .

What is handloom weaving?

photo by ikoke

There are weaving machines called handlooms. The warp and weft threads are passed through a loom and intersected one by one to weave.

The weaving is done rhythmically using both hands and feet, but in reality, even if the threads are criss-crossed many times, the weaving process is only a few centimeters, which is a daunting task.

I tried weaving!

photo by ikoke

As you can see from the image, since these thin threads are woven in a criss-cross manner, they don't move forward. It took 30 minutes to fold the red thread part! I gave up early.

What kind of thread is the weaving thread?

photo by ikoke

It is woven by craftsmen using threads spun from plants such as green ramie or silk threads spun from silkworms.

Raw silk before dyeing. The silk thread in the foreground is already shiny and beautiful.

photo by ikoke

It's hard to see because it's behind a glass case, but there are threads in beautiful colors. are vegetable dyes that use plant roots, tree bark, etc.

photo by ikoke

The dyed thread is wrapped around the "shuttle" shown in the image above to become the weft thread. This shuttle is woven by sliding between the threads stretched on the loom.

Characteristics of each textile in the Okitama region

We have looked into the characteristics of the representative textiles of the Okitama region, ``Yoneori,'' ``Shirataka Tsumugi,'' and ``Nagai Tsumugi

Yonezawa-ori (Yoneori)

Yonezawa-ori originated in the late Edo period when Yozan Uesugi, who joined the Yonezawa clan to rebuild its finances, recommended sericulture to promote industry and weaving as a side job, and it spread.

After inviting weavers from Kyoto to continue their research and development efforts, the technique of "yarn dyeing" was established, in which raw silk was dyed with plants such as safflower and purple before weaving.As a result, Yonezawa-ori became well-known nationwide. Now you can

This item is woven using thread made from a plant called Aomo

Shirataka Tsumugi

Shirataka Tsumugi, like Yonezawa textiles, is a yarn-dyed textile. It has a history of 150 years, and in 1880 it inherited Japan's only itajime kasuri , and is said to be the northern limit of kasuri weaving

Nagai Tsumugi

During the Meiji period, a textile wholesaler in Nagai City invited instructors of pongee and other textiles from Niigata, and the synonymous name for Nagai pongee, ``Korinyu pongee,'' was born. The name Kome-ryu was given because it was originally part of the Yonezawa domain and because it resembled Ryukyu pongee.

Recently, animal prints have become popular and are being actively incorporated.

summary

As I looked at the fabric, which was completed through a daunting process, and the elegant kimonos made by Japanese seamstresses, I felt a desire to wear them.

Weaving experience may be a good opportunity to experience Japanese culture. At the Yoneori Kaikan in Yonezawa, you can try weaving for free from time to time, so why not give it a try when you're out and about?

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