. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
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tsumugi 紬 pongee, silk weaving, silk fabric
with a thread of silk spun from the textured floss of leftover silk cocoons.
. orimono 織物 weaving .
- Introduction -
- quote -
Tsumugi (pongee)
is a silk fabric woven from the floss remaining in the silkworm cocoon after the full threads have been removed. By spinning these broken strands together silkworm farmers created a fabric for for their own use. Today tsumugi is highly prized and one of the most expensive kimono fabrics despite its humble origins.
- Characteristics
Tsumugi was originally spun, woven, and sewn into a kimono by one person for the use of her household, so there are many distinct regional variations. However, all tsumugi can be readily identified by its characteristic slubs and sheen. The slubs (rough lines in the weaving) are created by spinning the silk. Initially tsumugi fabric is very stiff, due to the starch applied during spinning, but the more times it is worn and washed, the softer it becomes. Very old tsumugi is as soft as silk fabric woven from untwisted threads.
- Manufacture
Broken threads left inside the silk cocoon are collected by the farmer. These are degummed in a hot water bath with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sulfurous acid (a mild bleach). After rinsing, they are hung to dry out of direct sunlight. After drying, the silk floss is placed in a bath of ground sesame seeds and water. The oil from the sesame seeds makes it easier to draw individual threads to be spun.
The floss is handspun.
The spinner uses saliva to adhere the new threads to the old ones. This produces the characteristic sheen and stiffness of tsumugi. After spinning, the thread is dyed and then woven into tsumugi. The most popular patterns include shima, ichimatsu, and kasuri. After weaving, the fabric is steamed to set the dyes and then made into kimono.
- source : immortalgeisha.com/wiki... -
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- ABC - List of pongee from the Prefectures
................................................................................ Ibaraki
Yuuki tsumugi, Yūki-tsumugi 結城紬 Yuki pongee
- quote -
1. Produced
in Yuki City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
2. Characteristics:
The best "Tsumugi" fabrics used for clothing, designated as an "Important Intangible Cultural Property. "The silk fabric which is hand spun from the floss is dyed manually so that splash patterns will come out on the fabric after it is woven. They are hand woven in "Jibata"(a loom with no legs) and the designs are small crosses of splash patterns. Warm, light, tough and free from wrinkles, the fabric does not fade or discolor easily, but increases its luster the more frequently it is washed and stretched. This fabric is of such good quality that it is said that "Yuki Tsumugi" should first be worn as a night wear and then used as a going out wear. It takes 10 to 15 days to weave a plain fabric and 30 to 45 days to weave a small patterned fabric for a piece of cloth required for an adult garment (36 cm width and 840 cm length).
3. Uses:
Clothing.
4. History:
The pongee was well known as "Hitachi Ashiginu" ( a fabric woven with thick and rough silk threads) in the Heian Period and as "Hitachi Tsumugi" in the Kamakura Period.
In 1602 the name was changed to "Yuki Tsumugi" as it became an item for presenting to the Shogun. After that, weavers from Ueda (Nagano Prefecture) were invited, resulting in an improvement of the quality with the technique used in weaving stripes. The production was a side job for farmers in the middle of the Edo Period.
At first, only the plain and striped fabrics were produced, but the striped "Kasuri" was invented in 1866, the splash patterns made of both warp and weft in 1873 and crepe pongee in the early Taisho Period.
The fabric was well known in the old days and quoted in a poem in "Manyoshu"(Ten Thousand Leaves), an anthology of 4,516 poems, compiled in late Nara or early Heian Period, around 800.
筑波ねの 新桑まよの 衣あれど 君がみけしし あやに着ほしも
I have woven a cloth
With silk threads spun from
New cocoons of Mt. Tsukuba.
Would that it be a pretty costume
Worn by my loved one.
- source : kimono.or.jp/dictionary... -
................................................................................ Ishikawa 石川県
Ushikubi tsumugi 牛首紬 Ushikubi pongee
- quote -
1. Produced in 石川県石川郡白峰村
Shiraminemura Ishikawagun, Ishikawa Prefecture.
2. Characteristics:
Silk fabrics: white pongee and striped pongee, handwoven with home spun threads. Because it is so tough, it can pull out a nail when hooked, the fabric is also called "Kugi Nuki Tsumugi"(nail pulling pongee).
3. Uses:
Clothing, coats, sashes, neckties, pouches, etc.
4. History:
This district started producing silk from olden days because of flourishing sericulture and hand spinning techniques. It is said that the origin of the fabric was in the years after the "Heiji Revolt "(civil war) in 1159. First woven as side jobs for farmers, it was marketable as "Ushikubi Tsumugi" and "Hakusan Tsumugi" in the Genroku Era (1688-1704). It was industrialized in the late Meiji Period and flourished in the late Taisho Peiod. Since the Showa Period, however, production died out and only 2 factories are producing it today.
-source : kimono.or.jp/dictionary...-
................................................................................ Kagoshima 鹿児島県
Ooshima tsumugi 大島紬 Amami Oshima pongee
Mostly made in 奄美大島 Amami Oshima Island.
- reference : amamioshimatsumugi.com... -
................................................................................ Nagano 長野県
Shinshu tsumugi 信州紬 Shinshu pongee
- quote -
The origins of Shinshu Tsumugi go back to a silk cloth called あしぎぬ ashiginu that was woven in the Nara period (710-794). Because of the rivalry and encouragement that the clans in the province of Shinshu were given, sericulture was very popular and the production of pongee throughout the province flourished, and every year large quantities of cloth were dispatched to Kyoto.
The production of this cloth then fell into gradual decline by the 1920s, only enough was being made to keep the skills associated with this cloths alive. After World War II, great efforts were made to revive the fortunes of this cloth not only by the prefectural authorities but by local authorities and communities, and production once again flourished throughout the region.
The making of cloth for top quality kimono followed and served to raise people's awareness of this fine cloth. Most of the cloth produced in various colors and patters is for kimono or obi. One extremely special cloth is woven from a silk obtained exclusively from wild silk worms.
- source : kougeihin.jp.e...117 -
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Ueda tsumugi上田紬 Ueda pongee
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Ueda Tsumugi is a traditional woven silk fabric popular since Edo times.
At studio workshops in Ueda, craftsmen continue the tradition today. There you can see some of the kimonos, mufflers, purses and other articles made from Ueda Tsumugi, as well as see some being made. And for those who want to try weaving an item themselves, you can try your hand at a weaving loom to make your own original Ueda Tsumugi souvenir.
- source : go-nagano.net/shisetsu... -
................................................................................ Niigata 新潟県
Ojiya tsumugi 小千谷紬 Ojiya pongee / 縮 chijimi
- quote -
Pongee was first produced here in the middle of the Edo period (1600-1868), when sericulture began. By the end of the same era, production had increased to such an extent that silk merchants came to do business from places which had their own flourishing weaving industry such as Kyoto and Joshu, the area that now corresponds to present-day Gunma prefecture.
Ojiya Chijimi 縮 techniques were used to produce a pongee suitable for home use woven from silk yarn reeled from leftover cocoons. The existence of this pongee was overshadowed by Ojiya Chijimi but production of a pongee actually started in earnest at the beginning of Showa (1926-1989).
The basis for today's pongee was perfected after a number of improvements were made to the pongee yarn.
Because the yarn used for this pongee cloth is reeled from cocoons, the threads have an interesting unevenness and make a light warm cloth. Various folk-craft designs are used and kimono of this colorful cloth provide plenty of opportunity for elegant dressing. The cloth is now also being used for interior items.
- source : kougeihin.jp.e...113 -
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- quote -
Shiozawa tsumugi 塩沢紬 Shiozawa Pongee
The history of weaving in the Shiozawa area is very long and an example of a linen cloth --now Echigo jofu 越後上布 Echigo linen-- woven during the Nara period (710-794) is preserved in the Shosoin Repository in Nara. The skills and techniques used to weave this linen cloth were adopted for the weaving of a silk cloth that became Shiozawa Tsumugi and was first woven during the Edo period (1600-1868).
This cloth is characterized by a very particular sense of quality and refinement derived from its ikat patterns which are composed of fine crosses called kagasuri 蚊絣 --"mosquito ikat"--and a kikkogasuri 亀甲絣 of box-like pattern, both achieved by tying bundles of thread and rubbing in the dyestuff before weaving. The cloth is used exclusively for kimono.
- source : kougeihin.jp... 111 -
................................................................................ Okinawa 沖縄
. Kumejima tsumugi 久米島紬 Kumejima pongee .
................................................................................ Shiga 滋賀県
amiori tsumugi, ami-ori 網織紬 Amiori pongee
"weaving with fishing nets"
Silk has been used since the mid-Edo period. The strings were used for fishing nets. When the nets broke, they strings were used for weaving cloth.
The material has a delicate, but rough touch.
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Hatasho tsumugi 秦荘紬 Hatasho pongee
made from left-over silk yarn.
A traditional craft of Hikone.
................................................................................ Tokyo 東京都
- quote -
Honba Kihachijo 本場黄八丈 (Hachijojima Silk Fabric)
1 - Honba Kihachijo (Hachijojima silk fabric) is both a flat woven and twill woven fabric produced using threads that are dyed prior to weaving.
2 - To drive the weft threads through the weave, a shuttle is used.
3 - Dyeing of threads is carried out by hand. When dyeing is conducted, plant-derived dyes are used. The yellow color is produced from kobunagusa (scientific name: Arthraxon hispidus Mak.). The orange color is produced from a species of laurel (Machilus thunbergii). The black color is produced from a species of beech (Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii). The mordant used is comprised of wood ash and mud.
Traditionally Used Raw Materialst
Pongee thread derived from raw silk, doupion silk and floss silk; or silk thread with similar properties to these classifications.
History and Characteristics
The birthplace of the silk woven fabrics called "Kihachijo," which are known for being dyed using plant-derived materials, is located approximately 300 kilometers south of Tokyo.
On Hachijojima (Hachijo Island), which arises from the surrounding deep blue waters, cute "daughters of the island" offer calls of "welcome" to island visitors as soon as they arrive at New Year or at festival times. All over the island, tropical plants such as palms, hibiscus and other flowers add color throughout the year.
Long ago, the island was known as "the island that not even birds visit," it being a solitary and remote outcrop arising from the sea. It also played host to a harsh natural environment. However, human ingenuity allowed for the discovery of the unique colors of Kihachijo fabrics. By using the natural plant dyes necessary to produce yellows, oranges and blacks, the island's specialty "Honba Kihachijo" silk fabrics were born.
It is said that Kihachijo's uniqueness lies in both its "dyes" and "weave," these qualities being born of the island's environment. The three core colors are yellow, orange and black, all of them being natural dyes derived from plant-based materials native to the island.
"Hachijo Kariyasu" (or kobunagusa) (scientific name: Arthraxon hispidus Mak.) is used to dye yellows.
The bark of a species of laurel called Madami (Machilus thunbergii) is used to dye the browns.
The bark of the "Shiinoki," a species of beech (Castanopsis cuspidata) is used for black colors
along with mud dyeing in a process unique to the island.
Striped fabrics along with checks are woven by hand by combining these three colors together.
One of the features of Kihachijo is that it retains its colors even after many years.
Indeed, the more it is washed the more vivid the colors become.
- - Kihachijo Cooperative Association
- source : shoko/dentokogei/english/hinmoku/3-kihachijo. ... -
................................................................................ Yamagata 山形県
Oitama tsumugi 置賜紬 Oitama pongee
also called
Yonezawa tsumugi 米沢紬 Yonezawa pongee
- quote -
While dating back to the 8th century, the weaving of this cloth did not become firmly established in this area of Yamagata Prefecture until the beginning of the 17th century. This was when 上杉景勝 Uesugi Keisho Kagekatsu, the lord of the fief, encouraged its weaving.
There are a number of individual cloths being produced. There is the traditionally woven 白鷹板締小絣 shirataka itajime kogasuri, an unassuming ikat cloth and another small motif ikat called 米琉板締小絣 yoneryu itajime kogasuri; and a weft ikat and another with ikat threads in both the warp and weft. Safflower is just one of the natural dyes used for a pongee cloth using these dyestuffs. Inevitably, it is the handmade look of these cloths which is now attracting much attention among consumers.
Oitama Tsumugi is actually a generic name for six individual cloths, namely
yoneryu itajime kogasuri, shirataka itajime kogasuri, yokosogasuri, heiyougasuri, kusakizome tsumugi, and benibana tsumugi.
All are yarn dyed and plain woven.
- source : kougeihin.jp.e... -
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. . . CLICK here for Photos !
. Reference - tsumugi pongee.
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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
................................................................................. Kagoshima 鹿児島県
大島郡 Oshima district
ikiryo 生霊
Ａさんが夕方に紬の着物を着て浜の方へ行っていた。それを見た人が、Ａさんは身重なのにどうしてだろうと訝しんだ。その三日後、Ａさんは出産時に急死した。イキマブリ（生霊）は実際にいるものだ。
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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
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- - - - - Haiku and Senryu - - - - -
冬の日や鵜匠の羽織る黒紬
fuyu no hi ya ushoo no haoru kuro-tsumugi
this winter day -
the black pongee coat
of the cormorant fisher
殿村莵絲子 Tonomura Toshiko (1908 - 2000)
. ukai 鵜飼 (うかい) cormorant fishing .
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Hida tsumugi 飛騨紬 Hida pongee
Haiku collection by 前田普羅 Maeda Fura
- text source : national diet library -
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