Haebaru woven flowers Supplier: Haraguchi gofuku [http://kimono-haraguchi.jp/]

  • Woven textiles
  • Okinawa

Haebaru woven flowers Haebaru hanaori

Beautiful patterns created by
flower filaments of many colors

Description

What is Haebaru woven flowers ?

Haebaru woven flowers are essentialy made in the city of Haebaru in the Okinawa prefecture.
Only flowers harvested in the prefecture such as garcinia or an indigo plant called Ryukyu ai are used to dye the yarns.
Haebaru woven flowers are unique in that it almost feels like their superb designs are solid.
Many years of work and pratice are necessary to perfect the techniques that make the detailed patterns of Haebaru woven flowers look like embroidery at first sight.

History

It is known that the techniques of Haebaru woven flowers have been known since the Meiji period (1868-1912).
In 1914, a supplementary school for girls was create in the city of Haebaru. It led to many girls and women learning the traditional techniques of flower weaving which they modernized to create a unique, new art.
After WWII, the villagers that had survived lived in great poverty and started to collect different materials in the hope of restoring their art of textile.
Producing their unique fabric was their main goal and they have kept on reinventing it and adapting to changing customers' needs and different periods of time until now.

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