Nishijin-gasuri

Nishijin-gasuri is a traditional fabric with subtle gradations not attainable in printed fabrics. Today, it is used to create many new products, such as this glossy clutch bag.   

The appeal of Nishijin-gasuri lies in the multicolored dyed silk threads. While many Japanese kasuri fabrics are woven from cotton yarns, Nishijin-gasuri is always woven using silk threads. Although the fineness of the thread makes it difficult to work with, it  enables weavers to create more detailed, precise patterns. The number of warp threads range from several thousand to over 10,000.

Nishijin-ori is usually associated with kimono sashes (obi), but this kasuri fabric is also used to make the kimono itself.  The best known style is the kasuri-omeshi, where the pre-dyed yarn brings out the lustre of the silk to create deep, delicate shades that really strike a chord with wearers.

 

In order to recreate a particular design into the fabric, the warp threads must be adequately processed. 

Marking are made to sections of the threads spun over the owaku frame to indicate which sections will be dyed and which will not. 

Prepared yarn is taken to a dyeing factory, and after dyeing, the resist threads, paper, or rubber tubes are removed back at the workshop. Only one color can be dyed at a time, so the same process of resist binding (kukuri) followed by dyeing, is repeated for every color required.   

Once dyeing is complete, threads of the same colour or pattern are bundled up and twisted around one arm to make a ball. This process, called makitsuke, prevents the threads from tangling. The artisan then pulls his or her hand out, leaving a hole in the middle (called heso-age). The yarn is then spun around a device called “the drum”, taiko.

 

The yarn i then spun around a device called a "drum" or taiko. 

The process where warp threads, prepared using the garakumi process, are vertically separated to make the pattern is called hashigo-kake or “laddering”. Nishijin weavers use a tool called hashigo (a ladder), to pass the threads through metal rods set at varied heights to accurately separate the yarn. 

Once the pattern is created through vertical thread separation, the warp is wrapped around a cylindrical implement called chikiri (this process is called tatemaki). The warp is passed through the vertical “ladders” according to the design, and wrapped around the cylinder. This is the end of the kasuri artisan’s job. The wrapped warp-cylinders are now passed to weavers to be woven into Nishijin-gasuri fabric.

In the face of aging and the lack of successors among craftspeople, people have begun to create new products using Nishijin-gasuri in order to protect its tradition and expand its application. In addition to the traditional applications of Nishijin-gasuri silk fabric for kimonos and obi, products such as bags or glasses cases made of cotton fabric used in daily life are also being created using Nishijin-gasuri technique.