Draft:Textile arts of Japan

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The textile arts of Japan have a long and rich history, representing several centuries of the developing use of

fibre
types, with some textile traditions limited to the use of one fibre type alone.

Though many techniques now considered traditional – such as varieties of brocade weaving and tie-dye techniques – originated in China, several others originated natively in Japan, such as the use of indigo dye in ikat-woven fabrics and the layering and stitching of materials in sashiko. Japanese textile arts use fibre types such as linen, ramie (a kind of native nettle), hemp, and cotton. Wool also began being used after the Meiji Restoration and the end of the policy of isolation. Japan is a major historical centre for the production of silk, so many of its traditional textiles make heavy use of the fibre; these range from fine crêpe fabrics such as kinsha (smooth crêpe) to informal, slub-woven and hand-produced fabrics such as tsumugi.

Japanese textiles are known for their use in items of traditional clothing, such as the

Ryukyuan and Ainu
textiles both form rich and often highly-differentiated traditions. Historically, the clothing of the peasant and farmer classes, which was hand-spun and -woven, also constituted its own set of general traditions, with garments differing from the kimono in their construction, decoration and use.

Japanese textile arts are prized for their uniqueness and sophistication, and have had an impact on Western textile arts. During the

Meiji period, Japanese textiles and culture became a subject of fascination for many Westerners, contributing to the rise of Japonisme in the West at the end of the 19th century. The demand for exports led to the creation of some traditional textiles and clothing for export. During the later 20th century, interest in traditional dyeing techniques such as shibori
increased in the West, influencing the development of tie-dye textiles.

Despite several textile arts being designated as

Intangible Cultural Heritage icons, and their producers as National Living Treasures, many traditions and techniques face a dwindling and ageing group of practitioners. This decline is due to a combination of falling demand, undercut profits from middlemen in the kimono sales industry, and production processes that traditionally rely on a single person for one aspect of a textile's production. Some [traditions/textiles] – such as shibori variants like [] and [] – are no longer [practiced/produced], as they are no longer considered economically viable. Despite this, innovations in the industry, such as the sale of traditional goods over the Internet instead of traditional channels, have allowed some practioners to seek a viable wage for their work, potentially contributing to the survival of the many small, specialised industries of Japan's textile arts traditions.[1]

Types(?)

Traditional Japanese textile arts encompass a wide range of techniques. These include methods of weaving, dyeing and embroidery.

Some textiles, such as rag-woven textiles or slub-woven silks, which were once the sole [X] of working-class people, have become highly-prized for their high level of craftsmanship; as such, their price has risen over time.

Definition

A number of region-specific or otherwise nationally distinctive textiles are produced in Japan, and are recognised for their long history of production and production techniques. Some textile decoration techniques, such as dyeing and embroidery, are also recognised as traditional.

Though many traditional textiles have a long, uninterrupted history of production, some, such as tsujigahana, have only been partially revived, and have had to have been reinvented in the modern day due to the loss of technique knowledge and materials; others, such as beni itajime, have been revived exactingly, as a result of modern investigation of dyework archives and experimentation.[2]

Traditional textiles may be referred to as meibutsu (名物, lit. 'famous thing') or meisan (名産), terms used to describe regional speciality crafts in Japan. Some textiles are recognised as Intangible Cultural Properties by the Japanese government under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties (1950), a subsection of the Cultural Properties managed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology).

History

Following the introduction of many techniques and crafts from China in the Kofun period (300–538 CE),[3] by the beginning of the Heian period (794–1193 CE) and especially by the 9th century,[3]: 11  forms of clothing and textiles in Japan had become distinctly Japanese. By the 10th century, Japan had closed its doors to Chinese influence,[3]: 32  and the ensuing period wherein Japanese missions to Tang China were suspended and Chinese imports were halted led to the development of kokufū bunka [ja] (lit. 'kokufū culture'), wherein the clothing and textiles of Japan developed further, creating the basis for many of the culturally unique textile traditions present in Japan today.

Prior to the

meisen, a partially-degummed plain weave slub-woven silk that utilised new spinning machinery to create a strong, hard-wearing and cheap yarn, using fibre deemed unsuitable for the production of export-grade silk. Many meisen kimono were produced as ready-to-wear pieces featuring Art Deco
designs, marking the first time kimono were sold off-the-rack in Japan in large quantities.

Fibre types

For much of Japanese history, the fibre types used in the production of textiles were limited to silk, and a variety of bast fibres, such as hemp, linen and ramie. [All three bast fibres?] would typically be woven using the line fibre of a plant – the lengthy fibres closer to filament fibres than staple fibres in length, and softer than the rough, short fibres found on the inside of some plants, such as hemp. Though the textiles produced using such fibres could be fine and crisp, they were comparatively poor insulators, leading to the development of techniques such as sashiko, where layered fabrics would be stitched together for warmth.

Silk

Sericulture was introduced to Japan in [], and though Japan maintained its position as the largest producer of silk goods for [], silk remained an expensive good beyond the reaches of most ordinary people; as such, fine silk fabrics were limited to the upper classes, who could afford high-quality, finely-woven textiles decorated and woven in a number of fashions.

During the Edo period, the burgeoning nouveau-riche merchant classes ascended in terms of material wealth, allowing for the proliferation of silk materials throughout a wider portion of Japanese society, though still too expensive for the working classes.

The farmers who produced and silk would often retain any fibre deemed too damaged, poor-quality or otherwise unusable for finer materials (known as noil); this fibre would then be hand-spun into a slub-yarn, before being woven to produce tsumugi, a soft, slub-weave silk. From at least the 1870s, following the introduction of new spinning machines to Japan, silk fibre of a non-export grade would also be woven into meisen (lit. 'common silk stuff'), a hard-faced, informal and relatively stiff silk fabric, whose characteristics were produced by only partially-degumming the silk fibre.

Both tsumugi and meisen were once cheaply-produced fabrics. The latter was a homespun fabric produced using waste silk fibre (

filament fibres
of better-quality silk, tsumugi would have been a warmer material than hemp, linen or ramie, and was infinitely more affordable than fine silks, cotton and later wool.

As the lower classes were occasionally forbidden from even purchasing or wearing fine silks as part of pre-Meiji sumptuary laws on dress, informal, home-made silk fabrics such as tsumugi were often the only type of silk a farmer could wear, and would be spun and woven out of necessity. Certain traditions of tsumugi production became crafts in their own right, and in the modern day tsumugi is highly-prized as an informal, high-quality craftsman product.

Meisen, in contrast, was created from cheap, machine-spun silk yarn in the Meiji period, and was popularised for its low price and hard-wearing nature. Unlike tsumugi, meisen became a fashion product similar to modern-day jeans, as it could be cheaply made, was dyed and woven in a variety of modern patterns, and was considered fashionable, rather than a material produced out of necessity in a feudal class system.

Dating to the 1870s at the earliest, meisen combined partially-degummed waste silk fibre with new spinning machinery introduced to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. These spinning machines could produce a thick, hard-wearing silk yarn with greater strength than hand-spun varieties, and the resulting fabric was a hard-faced material that took to synthetic dyes well, with a similar drape and handle to the taffeta fabrics of the time. Though Dalby[3][page needed] notes that meisen was worn by geisha in the 1870s, meisen's real popularity began in the 1920s and 30s, following the impact of the Great Depression. Dyed in bright, modern designs that were heavily influenced by Western art movements such as Art Deco, meisen was used to create off-the-rack kimono that sold widely.

Cotton

Cotton was introduced to Japan during the early Edo period (1603–1867).[4][page needed]

Wool

Wool was introduced to Japan [ following the Meiji Restoration? ], after which it gained popularity as an informal material suitable for everyday clothing, particularly informal kimono. Wool-fibre kimono were a popular informal choice [before the 1960s?], and many wool kimono date to this time.

Techniques used

Textiles

  • Plain weave textiles – [often textiles intended for informal use]. Most all kasuri is plain weave.
  • Satin weave
    textiles – used for formal, expensive silk textiles
  • Leno weave textiles – leno weaves are uncommon in Western clothing, but leno-weave textiles, including plain-weave textiles with horizontal or (more uncommonly) vertical stripes of leno weave are common in Japanese textiles, and are a hallmark of materials intended for summer use.
  • Crepe textiles – a number of crepe types exist in Japanese textiles, varying in appearance from smooth to rough, with yarns twisted at differing, periodic intervals to produce certain effects.

Dyework

Embroidery

Regional specialties

Many Japanese textiles have a long history of production, with a number of towns and villages considered a centre of production. The town of

Aichi prefecture, has been a centre of shibori production since the early 17th century.[5]

Though many textiles are highly-prized and considered traditional in Japan, over time, the production of some varieties has stopped, and the production methods of others have been forgotten. The production of some varieties of shibori in Arimatsu was noted as extinct as recently as 1983, due to the expense of the production process and a fall in demand;[6] other textiles, such as sakiori, are no longer produced on a wide scale, also due to a fall in demand. The original technology for some dye techniques, such as tsujigahana, has been lost entirely, and only partially revived through re-invented techniques in the modern day; others, such as beni-itajime, have been revived in full, due to the work of research groups.

Dyes and dye techniques

Dyes

Prior to the Meiji period and the discovery and import of synthetic dyes into Japan, textiles were dyed with a variety of natural dyestuffs. As with Western textiles, the most common dyes were blue, brown and black in colour, coming from abundant natural resources such as

woad
(commonly found in Western Europe) but in higher quantities.

The most expensive, hard-to-produce dyes were, also in parallel with Europe, red and purple. Though the source of these dyes differed, both red and purple pigmentation was, prior to the invention of synthetic dyes, incredibly difficult or expensive to produce from natural sources. As the West used sea snails in the family Muricidae to produce the colour Tyrian purple (which varied from a true purple to a brilliant red), in Japan, a preparation of the root of the gromwell plant (specifically Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum) was used for purple dye, and the safflower plant was used to produce a red dye. The process of extracting purple dyestuff from the roots was an exceedingly long, complex and time-consuming process, necessitating its relatively high expense:

The roots [of the plant] are collected and dried for two to three months to mature the color. While this occurs, the silk is pre-mordanted [...] the mordanting process involves repeated immersion of the cloth or yarn in the alum bath and drying over a two- or three-month period. To prepare the dyestuff, the gromwell roots are softened overnight in 60° [Celsius] water and then pounded to release the dye. The silk is then repeatedly immersed in the bath, aired to allow more oxygen to penetrate the cloth and then steeped in the dye until the desired color is achieved. When the dyeing is completed the cloth is placed in dark storage for as long as a year while the color continues to mature.[7]

For a deep purple, up to 50 dips could be needed. Shikonzome dye loses colour remarkably fast, literally losing colour as the fibres are being dipped, meaning it was often used for bokashi (ombré) dying, and the resulting colour was varied and uneven, with each strand a slightly different shade.[8] The resulting shades of purple produced by lithospermum purpurocaeruleum were referred to as murasaki, a name taken from the author of The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu.

Additional terms were used for specific shades of purple within this range, particularly during the Heian period; names such as usuki murasaki ("pale purple") and asaki murasaki ("light purple") formed important distinctions when wearing jūnihitoe, and could also indicate (typically high) rank (see below).[9]

Records from one dye workshop in [], the [], show that [prior to its closing/within X time frame], cheaper dyes such as

madder
and [] were being used in the adulteration of red safflower dye, bringing down its total cost.

Colour

During the Heian period, the use of colour within the Imperial Court took on symbolism of both hierarchical and artistic nature for both men and women.

For men, colour was used to show rank. [Forbidden colour etc etc]

For women, colour not only had the dimension of hierarchy, but primarily the dimension of artistic and seasonal merit.

Before 1960, kimono were generally lined with solid-red or -yellow fabrics; kimono found after this time period typically have white linings featuring a colour gradient along the hem, or are lined in white, with a solid colour lower lining.[4][page needed]

Dye techniques

The use of dye techniques also has a long history in Japan. One of the earliest written descriptions of shibori dates to 238 CE, where it was recorded in the Chinese document

Queen Himiko gifted the Emperor of the Wei dynasty over 200 yards (180 m) of "spotted cloth" – potentially describing a form of wax-resist decoration on the fabric.[6]

The earliest surviving examples of shibori-dyed cloth date back to the mid-8th century, donated to the

Nara in 756 CE, as part of the goods donated by the Emperor Shōmu upon his death. The techniques seen on these earliest fragments show bound resists, wax resists and folded and clamped resists.[6] However, at least some of the shibori-dyed fabric in this collection is Chinese in origin.[6]

The traditions of shibori (tie-dyeing) and dorozome (mud-dyeing) both originated out of a necessity of available dyes.

Recognition

A number of traditional textiles are recognised as having been produced by a Master Craftsperson (dentō kogeishi) by their crafts union, the association of Masters and Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Craftspersons are required to have twelve years of experience practicing a craft historically linked to their region of work, and pass both written and practical exams. Textiles produced by Master Craftspersons are demarcated by the addition of a seal at the end of the bolt.[10]: 120 

Outside of this, traditional and heritage textiles are also recognised by their own individual stamps, also placed on the end of a bolt. These stamps indicate that a bolt of fabric has been inspected by the relevant authorities and verified for quality and production technique.

Kagoshima prefecture, is considered to be oshima tsumugi proper, with its own individual stamp indicating as such.[10]
: 121 

Traditional textiles

Intangible Cultural Properties:

  • Ise-katagami
  • Kijōka-bashōfu
  • Kumejima-tsumugi
  • Kurume-kasuri
  • Miyako-jōfu
  • Tate-nishiki
  • Yūki-tsumugi
  • Kenjō Hakata-ori
  • Edo komon
  • Bingata
  • Saga-nishiki
  • Shuri-ori
  • Ojiya-chijimi Echigo-jofu
  • Seigō Sendai-hira
  • Tsumugi
  • Bashōfu
  • Mokuhanzuri-sarasa
  • Monsha
  • Yūsoku-ori
  • Ra
  • Nihon shishu (embroidery)

References

  1. ^ Fackler, Martin (9 February 2015). "Old Ways Prove Hard to Shed, Even as Crisis Hits Kimono Trade". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022. [Mr Kanai, who owns the mud-dyeing workshop's] son, Yukihito, now uses those same centuries-old dyeing techniques to color new types of items, including T-shirts, jeans and even guitar bodies. He is experimenting with selling these over the Internet, to avoid the onerous distribution system.
  2. ^ Arai, Masanao; Wada, Yoshiko. Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings, 2010. BENI ITAJIME: CARVED BOARD CLAMP RESIST DYEING IN RED. Univeristy of Nebraska, Lincoln.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780099428992
    .
  4. ^ a b Dalby, Liza (1993). Kimono: Fashioning Culture.
  5. ^ Galli, Andrew and Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada. "Arimatsu, Narumi shibori celebrating 400 years of Japanese artisan design". (DVD) produced by Arimatsu Shibori Mutsumi-kai (Japan) ; Studio Galli Productions (USA) Fremont, Calif. 2007
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1568363967
    .
  7. ^ Parmal, Pamela A. (2004). "The Impact of Synthetic Dyes on the Luxury Textiles of Meiji Japan" (pdf) (Symposium Proceedings (474)). Textile Society of America. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Kimono Mochi: private kimono collection photographs and text". kimonomochi kimono collection. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  9. ^ Bryant, Anthony J. "Kasane no Irome". Sengoku Daimyo. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Valk, Julie. 2018. Survival or Success? The Kimono Retail Industry in Contemporary Japan.
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