Woven and Dyed Fabrics
Kimono all share a basic, refined silhouette and achieve their many variations through the fabric used for the garment. Textile weaves, dyed patterns, embroidery, hand-painting and other techniques are used to provide each Kimono with its own distinctive design. Kimono which achieve their color by threads dyed before weaving are known as "saki-zome", often with geometrical or symmetrical woven patterns. Kimono fabric dyed after weaving is known as "ato-zome", often exhibiting more free-style designs.

Oshima Tsumugi
Nearly every Japanese prefecture has its own special "tsumugi" design weaves. Tsumugi, which means to "spin", is made of spun silk, which is then dyed and woven. The Shiro Oshima Tsumugi, made on the island of Amami-Oshima, displays a snowflake pattern. (use image - warm grey and white geometric design) Other weaves produce elaborate pictorial designs, like the crane woven into the Shiro Oshima Tsumugi

Kumejima Tsumugi
Kumejima Tsumugi has the oldest history of the many Japanese tsumugi weaves. Many plants found on Kumejima IslandÊ produced rich dye colors which were softened by dyeing the textile in mud before weaving on the loom.

Yuuki Tsumugi
Yuuki Tsumugi, made in the Ibaraki prefecture, is a dense textural weave. It is said that this fabric is so sturdy, it will last 300 years.









Arimatsu and Hikida Shibori
Shibori, a form of "tie-dyeing" is often characterized by the soft, blurry edges of its patterns. The pattern is achieved by first pressing, knotting and squeezing the cloth to resist the textile dyes. The shibori made in Arimatsu displays a distinctive "dappled" pattern and loose weave. The Hikida Shibori exhibits a three-dimensional quality in its tightly raised weave.





Ori
Yuntanza Hana Ui, from the island of Okinawa can date its origins back for hundreds of years. Saki Ori, from Aomori is a lushly woven fabric which is said to become more comfortable with each wearing.








Kaga Yuzen
Miyazaki Yuzen developed the starch-resist method of dyeing fabric in the Edo era. The beautiful hand painting process produces lavish nature pictorials such as the Kaga Yuzen Botan made in Ishikawa.

Ojiya Chijimi
Ojiya Chijimi, from Niigata, is a type of linen crepe popularly used in summer kimono. Developed in the beginning of the Edo era by Jiro Hori, its distinctive crimping makes it a highly valued cloth.








Edo Komon
An intricately fine repeated pattern using stencil papers, this technique emerged in the Edo era. These two examples by Yujiro Nakamura show the extreme detail in Edo Komon dyeing.









Nishijin Fukuro-Obi
Satin and brocade, originally woven for the aristocracy more than 12 centuries ago, is still produced in Kyoto for very formal kimono.

In 1912 a piece of fabric was discovered in central Asia covering the face of a mummy buried in a 5th to 7th century tomb. An ancient temple, Houryu-ji in Nara, Japan, had a similar piece of fabric. Academic analysis concluded that these two "Nishiki" fabrics were made at the same place in China about the year 609. It took artist Heizo Tatsumura eight years to reproduce the 7th century fabric found at Shosoin (the emperor's treasure storage house of that era). His son, Heizo Tatsumura 2nd, took five years to reproduce the piece found at the tomb of central Asia. On display, you will see Heizo Tatsumura's craftsmanship, using the same techniques and designs used to make the Nishiki fabric in China in 609. It will make you travel through time and space back to the Silk Road of the 7th Century.



Kaga-Yuzen artist and craftsman, Yasuji Tsurumi, created this dyed fabric for Benihana. It depicts a field of Benihana (safflowers) along the Mogami River in Yamagata, Japan. The Benihana logo features this flower. Benihana Zome-Ori fabric woven by artist Shuji Nitta uses natural dyes from the Benihana safflower.

The Kimono Fabric exhibition is presented through Support Services of Benihana Inc. We owe special thanks for our collection and displays to: Mr. Yuuichi Kitano, Mr. Yasuji Tsurumi, Mr. & Mrs. Kenji Wada, Mr. & Mrs. Ted Kumagai, Art Nishimura, Honba Amami Ohshima Tsumugi Kyoto Kumiai, Ms. Kimiko Yoshimoto, Mr. Masahisa Ishizaki, Shin Office, Ms. Eiko Fukami and Mr. Shuji Nitta.

Return to the Kimono page

The Obi

How to wear a kimono

Different kinds of kimono

Kimono accessories