Sanuki Kagari Temari

Traditional local toys with brightly colored vegetable-dyed cotton yarn, made in the Seisan region of Kagawa prefecture

By Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

By: Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University in collaboration with Kyoto Women's University

Sanuki Kagari Temari (2016) by Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation AssociationArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Sanuki plain’s abundance by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

The Richness of the Sanuki Plain

In the northern part of Kagawa prefecture, the Sanuki plain spreads out facing the Seto Inland Sea. With a landscape dotted with mountains and a warm dry climate, the area flourished in the Edo period (1615–1868). The most famous local products were wasanbon sugar, salt, and cotton, which collectively were known as the three Sanuki whites. Sanuki kagari (embroidered) temari ("hand balls") are local toys that use cotton, one of the three whites. In 1987, the balls were designated as a Traditional Craft of Kagawa Prefecture. Currently, over 150 members of an association for the preservation of Sanuki kagari temari, led by Araki Eiko, is preserving techniques and striving to make the temari more widely known.

A temari used to be owned by Buddhist monk Ryokan, Sanuki kagari temari (1758/1831) by Ryokan (1758-1831)Original Source: Bunsui Ryokan Shiryoukan Museum

The history of Temari

The origins of temari lie in kemari (foot balls) that originally came from China. In the Heian period (794–1185), playing kemari became an elegant pastime for the noblity. The original balls were made from deer skin. However, by the Edo period (1615–1868), most balls were godenmari cotton hand balls, hand crafted by palace ladies in waiting. With time, the relevant techniques spread to the villages, where hand balls began to be made as children’s toys. It is said that, in the late Edo period, Zen priest Ryokan (1758–1831) always had a temari in his breast flap so that he would be ready at any time to play ball with children. The temari preserved as a memorial to him tells us what  temari looked like in the Edo period.

Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Association

Kagari temari, in which silk and cotton are embroidered in multicolored geometric patterns, developed with great individuality in each region nationwide. However, as the Meiji period (1868–1912) began, the arrival of functional rubber balls led to a decline in temari, including those from the Seisan region of Kagawa prefecture. In the 1960s, the Kagawa craftsman Araki Keiyū, when investigating local folk handicraft and local toys, learned about the survival of traditional temaki in the city of Kan’onji and strove to revive and spread the relevant techniques. In 1983, with his wife Yaeko, he set up the Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Association in Kan’onji.

"Squares and stylized chrysanthemum", Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Temari
embroidery
patterns (1
):
 Squares and stylized chrysanthemum

A combination of a geometric pattern and a chrysanthemum. The feel of the ball can be varied using the same method depending of the number of threads used and their positioning.

"Chrysanthemum", Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Temari embroidery
patterns (2):

 Chrysanthemum

A typical temari pattern. Beautiful tones  are produced by cotton yarn dyed with vegetable dyes. If the yarn is dyed gently, natural soft tones emerge.

"Woven bamboo pattern", Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Temari embroidery
patterns (3
):
Bamboo basketry pattern

The pattern is arranged like hexagonally plaited strips of bamboo in a basket. In this embroidered temari a natural or real-life motif is skillfully turned into a pattern.

"Shibaraku", Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Temari embroidery
patterns (4):

 “Shibaraku”

A pattern based on the iconic actor's costume in the Kabuki Juhachiban play “Shibaraku.” Expressed on a sphere, this representation becomes especially unusual and interesting.

Coloring cotton yarn with vegetable dye, Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Sanuki kagari temari techniques (1)

 

Natural dyeing cotton
yarn

The cotton yarns used for temari are colored with traditional vegetable dyes, with no reliance on chemical dyes. After base dye has been applied to the cotton yarn in the form of gojiru paste from soy beans, the yarn is vat dyed in a boiled dye bath. Having absorbed the soy bean proteins, the yarn is easy to dye.

Core from rice husks, Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Sanuki kagari temari techniques (2):

Making a core from
paper wrapped rice husks

Traditional Japanese temari were made with cores of cotton wool, sawdust, rice husks, fern husks, or old cloth. Sanuki kagari temari have, and always have had, a core made from rice husks wrapped in thin paper. This takes time and creates a characteristic crisp sound as the needle passes through. Unlike the past, it is nowadays hard to obtain rice husks, but the necessary volume is being secured thanks to the cooperation of local farmers.

The base ball, Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Sanuki kagari temari techniques (3):

 Creating the base ball

A round ball is prepared as a base by winding thin winding yarn round the core. Care is taken to create a sphere, and the yarn is wound randomly in various directions. Sometimes distortions are corrected by hand. The yarn is wound all over the ball until no paper can be seen.

Embroidering the pattern, Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Sanuki kagari temari techniques (4):

Marking sections
with dyed yarn and embroidering the pattern

The base ball is divided evenly into sections with dyed yarn, which become guidelines for the embroidery of the pattern. Imagining the temari to be a globe, the North and South Poles and the Equator are determined, and base lines are embroidered. Depending on the pattern, the “globe” may be divided into perhaps four, six, eight or 10 sections. Guided by these lines, the pattern is embroidered with a needle.

KOUTEMARI, Sanuki kagari temari by Photo by Minamoto TadayukiArt Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Broadening the appeal of temari

The Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Association is investigating the potential of temari, and its members are actively pioneering new applications for this craft. Various new forms of temari have been developed that make pleasing gifts. For example, small temari attached to a string can be made into personal accessories and, with fragrant wood chips as its core, a temari can become a scent ball. These efforts are giving rise to a new group of fans and are raising interest in temari.

Credits: Story

Information provided by Sanuki Mingeikan, Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Association, Bunsui Ryokan Shiryoukan Museum

Photo by Minamoto Tadayuki

Movie by:Takayama Kengo, A-PROJECTS

Text written by Tanaka Atsuko

Exhibition created by Suzuyama Masako, Watanabe Masako, Kyoto Women's University Lifestyle Design Laboratory

Edited by Melissa M. Rinne, Kyoto National Museum

Directed by Maezaki Shinya, Kyoto Women's University

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Explore more
Related theme
Made in Japan
A showcase of Japanese crafts and traditions, and the untold stories behind them
View theme
Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites