Making the Paste, Nagaita Chūgata

Glutinous rice and lime are kneaded into a dough with hot water. Boiling the raw dough helps preserve it for several days (in the refrigerator) so a larger amount can be prepared and saved. When needed for production, the raw dough is mixed with a freshly made mix of rice bran combined with sugar and lime to create the resist paste. The red is a water-base pigment called “permanent red.”