Awa Shijira Fabrics

During the Meiji Restoration, a skilled weaver called Hana Kaifu/Amabe? lived in the village of Ataku in Awa. One day she found that a striped kimono hanging outside had gotten wet in a sudden shower. When the rain stopped and the kimono dried under the summer sun, Hana discovered it had a textured surface that she had never seen before. This was the starting point of the shigira weave. Taking inspiration from this coincidence, Hana repeatedly experimented in ways to develop a new striped highly textured fabric, shigira.

During and after the war, cotton was nationally regulated, forcing the production of the shijira fabrics to be shut down. When the regulation was abolished in 1951, production was restarted. Reestablishment of shijira and its traditional techniques, however, was not easy; especially problematic was the fermentation of the indigo-leaf bath (aidate). In honor of their efforts and success in preparing the fermented indigo bath, the technique received the designation of being a Traditional Craft of Japan in July 1978.

The indigo produced in Tokushima prefecture is called Awa-ai. It has been cultivated in the Yoshino River area for a long time. By the mid-Edo period (eighteenth century) Awa ai was sold thoughout the country as a dye for cotton largely used for commoners’ garments. Until about 1898, Indigo dyed textile of Awa area were widely distributed in Japan. Advantageous effects of dyeing with natural indigo include its repelling insects, deoderizing, and strenghtening the fabric.

Composted dry indigo leaves called "sukumo" are placed in an Otani-yaki vat and fermented to make the dye. To maintain the optimum temperature for indigo dyeing, the vat is buried in the ground.

The number of warp threads for one kimono width are measured to the length of one kimono in a determined color arrangement and then wound onto the warp beam. The combination of a dense 1:1 plain weave structure with a looser structure where adjacent threads are used together as a unit results in uneven tension, which gives the fabric a bumpy texture.