Miyako jofu is a textile produced on the island of Miyakojima, Okinawa prefecture. It is woven from a fabric called ramie and dyed with Ryukyu indigo, a type of indigo native to Okinawa. This textile has a fine kasuri pattern* and a smooth and lu…

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Kumejima tsumugi silk is a textile produced on the island of Kumejima, Okinawa prefecture. The history of this craft goes back all the way to the Muromachi period (1336-1573). This textile is distinct because of its elegant texture and deep color …

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Ryukyu kasuri is a textile made in Okinawa prefecture. It is made mostly from silk and dyed with both plant and synthetic dyes using a kasuri* or resist-dyeing technique. This craft features over six hundred different kinds of patterns inspired by…

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Murayama oshima tsumugi is a silk textile produced in the region surrounding Musashi murayama in western Tokyo. This craft is produced from hand-spun threads pulled from dupioni silk and has kasuri patterns* woven with both warp and weft patterns.…

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Tokyo fine-patterned dyeing (called Tokyo some komon in Japanese) is a stencil dyed textile produced in different wards of Tokyo like Shinjuku and Setagaya. It was designated as a traditional national craft in 1976. This textile can seem plain fro…

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Chibana hanaori is a textile produced in Chibana, Okinawa, Okinawa prefecture. It has flowery patterns woven in the base textile as well as a continuous geometric pattern. This kind of textile with a continuous geometric pattern is called mon orim…

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Nagoya yuzen is a cloth that is dyed and painted through a range of traditional techniques that are unique to the city of Nagoya, Aichi prefecture. The designs used for this craft range from monochromatic, color gradation, or classical motifs, but…

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Yaeyama minsa is a fabric produced in the town of Taketomi, Yaeyama district and the city of Ishigaki, Okinawa prefecture. The origin of this craft is not clear but it is thought that the kasuri belt was brought to Okinawa from Afghanistan via Chi…

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Yaeyama jofu is a fabric produced in the area surrounding Yaeyama ward in Ishigaki city, Okinawa prefecture. This textile is woven with hand-spun ramie threads and used to be produced as a tax to the Ryukyu Kingdom (present day Okinawa) in ancient…

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Shuri brocade (called Shuri ori in Japanese) is a woven fabric produced on the main island of Okinawa. There are two types of fabric, kasuri orimono and mon orimono, and these include hanaui, hanakura ori, doton ori, kasuri and minsa. The Ryukyu …

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Tama brocade (called Tama ori in Japanese) is a woven silk fabric produced around Hachioji, Tokyo. Since ancient times, Tama ori has been well-known under the name of Hachioji woven fabric. The following five different types of woven fabric are …

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Yomitanzan hanaori is a textile produced in the village of Yomitan, Okinawa. The threads of this craft are first dyed before being woven in a geometric, flowerlike design. This craft is woven with silk or cotton threads dyed with plant-based dyes …

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Arimatsu Narumi Shibori is a tie-dye fabric produced in the area surrounding Midori Ward in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. Most of the tie-dye products in Japan are produced here. The tie-dye products are designated as a traditional national craft…

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Honba Kihachijo refers to silk woven fabric produced in Hachijo Island, Tokyo. The name of Kihachijo is derived from a silk fabric with stripe and check patterns mainly dyed in bright yellow called Kihachi. Patterns mainly dyed in black are called…

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Ryukyu Bingata is the dyed and woven textile produced in the area surrounding Shuri City in Okinawa Prefecture. Its origin goes back to the 14th to 15th century. The ladies of the royal family or the families of the warrior class wore Ryukyu Binga…

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Kijoka No Bashofu refers to woven cloth produced in Ogimi Village, Okinawa. Bashofu is made from the fibers of the Japanese banana plant called Basho, and has been worn in kimono among commoners in Okinawa since ancient times. Kijoka No Bashofu is…

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Tokyo Tegaki Yuzen refers to kimono woven fabric produced in Shinjuku Ward, Nerima Ward and Nakano Ward, Tokyo. With an outgrowth of townsmen culture in Edo (current Tokyo), it is characterized by its consummate expressions of the Edo idea of styl…

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Nagoya Kuromontsuki Zome is a dyed and woven textile produced in the region surrounding Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. Kuromontsuki is the kimono worn at weddings or funerals and it has been popular since the Edo period in Nagoya among the samurai…

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Yonaguni Ori is a textile produced in Yonaguni-cho, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa Prefecture. The characteristic of Yonaguni Ori is the simple beauty of the textile that is dyed and woven by hand in the distinctive climate. The textile is divided into the …

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Edo Sekku Ningyo are dolls produced in 12 of the wards in Tokyo Metropolis and four cities in Saitama Prefecture. They refer to costumed dolls, such as ichimatsu ningyo (play dolls), gosho ningyo (palace dolls) and fuzoku ningyo (dolls in period c…

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Yomitanzan Minsa is a textile produced in the region around Yomitanson, Nakagami-gun, Okinawa prefecture.　Min means cotton and Sa means a narrow belt. This kind of narrow belt was made in various regions in Okinawa from ancient times. Basically, …

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Edo Oshi-e, or Edo Oshi-e Embossed Fabric Pictures, are a traditional craft produced around Nihombashi and Asakusa, Tokyo from the late Edo period (1603 - 1867). Today, they are also produced in Sumida ward, Koto ward, Katsushika ward in Tokyo, as…

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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 i…

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Tokyo Plain Dyeing, called Tokyo Mujizome in Japanese, is a plain dyed textile that started in the mid-Edo period by dyeing artisans as plain dyeing of Edo Murasaki(Edo Purple), indigo, safflower and Edo Cha(Edo Brown). The current main productio…

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