Author: kamys

Trial and Error of Obi Making – Master Craftsman’s Pursuit for Perfection

We Love Kimono Project 6

In early August 2020.  Mamiya-san, my kimono retailer, received a “medashi 芽出し” from Katsuyama-san, the Obi maker.  What is it?  I had no clue. 

Medashi is a trial sample that an obi maker weaves.  Before making the complete obi, the maker weaves the main design pattern using the sample yarns.  This way, any further requests or changes from the customer can be reflected in the course. 

Mamiya-san tried to snail mail the medashi to me just like he did with the base color sample of the kimono fabric.  (See We Love Kimono Project 3).  However, due to the worsening pandemic, all the airmail from Japan to the US was suspended.  Surface mail would take three or more months.  We had no choice but to fall back on relying on digital photos this time.

The photo above is a close-up of the medashi.  I noticed some light pink and gold colors were included together with the wisteria blue that was used as the anchor color.  Starting in the center of the Islamic Flower design, different patterns radiated one after another.  The yarn of the raised part looked thicker than the recessed part, but can it be?  I was mesmerized by its complexity.

The back side shows you how many different yarns are used for making this one design. 

I thought it was beautiful.  Shall we move on?   No, was Mamiya-san’s feedback.  According to Mamiya-san, Katsuyama-san was overusing the colors.  Is the gold thread really necessary?  What about pink? 

Since Mamiya-san has worked with Katsuyama-san many times before, Mamiya-san didn’t hold back his candid opinion.  Let’s make it simpler, he suggested. That way Katsuyama-san’s true graceful design will be more prominent.  Mamiya-san convinced Katsuyama-san to make a second try.

I asked Mamiya-san if I could still keep the first medashi.  Sorry, Akemi-san.  This is Katsuyama-san’s important property. He is to keep it so that he can reference it for his future work.  It is less likely he will make exactly the same one.  But it’s important that Katsuyama-san keeps all the medashi as his portfolio. 

Soon after Mamiya-san sent me a photo of the first medashi, he sent me this photo.  What is this? Are these the colors that Mamiya-san chose for my obi?  I was horrified.

Don’t worry, Akemi-san.  They are not the final colors, Mamiya-san assured me.  These colorings are a necessary part of the weaving process.

The Nishijin district in Kyoto implemented Jacquard looms from France in the late nineteenth century.  Katsuyama-san’s weavers are trained in this technique.  Katsuyama-san first draws and paints the obi design onto a paper grid.  The photo above is of hand-painted grid design paper.  Each column represents one warp yarn, and each row represents one weft yarn.  In order to make sure that the weaver doesn’t get confused, the convention is to use distinct colors for each different color thread.  The colors on this paper have nothing to do with the real colors.

This is the closeup of the grid paper.

Once drawing and painting on the grid paper is finished, Katsuyama-san scans it to a computer for two reasons.  One is to create Jacquard punch cards; the other is to create another paper for weavers to use as a guiding source when s/he weaves this pattern.

This is the closeup of the Jacquard punch cards.  Each card is narrow and long, indicating how each warp should be lifted so the weft can go through. Each card has eight rows, which are meant to control eight weft yarns.  The cards are bound together with the white thread as shown. 

I remembered a photo I took when I visited Katstuyama-san’s studio.  The long rail of punch cards was hanging from the top of the loom.  I never knew then, but that’s how they control the warp.  I asked Mamiya-san how many cards were punched and put together like this for my obi.  He replied: 9200 cards!

This is the reference paper that the weaver uses.  She has a table that indicates which color on the paper corresponds to which color of the real yarn.  

When I visited Katsuyama-san’s studio, the weaver was working on the obi with the diamond design.  The paper shown here must have been her reference paper.

I heard that the Jacquard punch cards are replaced with computers nowadays.  Why still use the physical punch cards, I asked.  Because if a mistake is made, it is easy to find it with the punch cards and correct it right away. 

Why hand loom instead of using a machine?  According to the book Nishijin Ori – Nihon no Senshoku 11 published by Tairyusha (p. 77), a machine can handle up to ten different colors. If the obi uses more colors, a hand loom is a must.  Some obis use over fifty different colors!

The book was written in 1976.  Machine looms must have advanced quite a bit since then. But Katsuyama-san still chooses handloom, because this way each obi looks slightly different and has its own beauty that can’t be replaced with any other.

About four months after I received the first medashi photo, I got a photo of the second one. 

The second medashi had no gold thread, no pink, but more subtle variations of blues and wisteria colors.  The outer rim of the design is now a much lighter color.  Mamiya-san said, let’s go with this one.

Mamiya-san will show this medashi to Kosaka-san so that Kosaka-san can determine the base color of the kimono.  Kosaka-san will draw Yuzen design on the left shoulder and the bottom front of the kimono based on this medashi.

I asked Mamiya-san if Katsuyama-san always makes two medashis for an obi.  Not normally.  Since this project was an unusual collaboration, it was necessary to take an extra step.  I appreciate the craftsman’s attention to detail.  I bet Katsuyama-san pursues efficiency in his process.  But sometimes efficiency gives way to the pursuit of perfection.  I’m learning how a craftsman works.

Weave First?  Or Dye First?  Another Factor that  Determines the Formality of Kimono

We Love Kimono Project 5

Kimono made of silk is more formal than cotton or linen kimono.  Not all the silk kimono, however, is made equal. 

Silk kimono is categorized into two groups based on how the fabric is made.

One type is called Sakizome先染or Ori 織. The yarns are dyed first, usually the warp and the weft yarns separately, then they are woven.  The most famous Ori kimono is Oshima Tsumugi 大島紬.  With the intricate patterns and painstaking process, Oshima Tsumugi is one of the most expensive kimono fabrics in Japan. 

Another type is Some 染.  The undyed yarns are woven first, hence making natural-white color kimono fabric first.  The fabric is then dyed in different colors and patterns. 

Some 染 kimono is always considered more formal than Ori 織 kimono.  For formal tea gatherings, Ori kimono is too casual, no matter how expensive it may be.

Once he had sketched a rough design of my kimono, Mamiya-san, my kimono retailer, selected the dyeing method of the kimono fabric.  His choice was Yuzen hand dyeing 手描き友禅,  and approached Kosaka-san, a Kyoto-based Yuzen kimono producer.

According to Mamiya-san, Kosaka-san’s name came to his mind right away when we agreed to launch We Love Kimono project.  While Kosaka-san has a long experience of working with traditional Yuzen craftsmen, he tries to incorporate contemporary elements in the design.  Kosaka-san will be willing to take up this challenging project, Mamiya-san thought.

What is Yuzen hand dyeing?  A short video below shows you its process. 

With the rough sketch he drew and a photo of Katsuyama-san’s Islamic Flower obi, Mamiya-san met with Kosaka-san.  Mamiya-san’s idea was to replicate the obi’s Islamic Flower design onto the kimono.  How large, where, and how similar the design should be on the kimono, was left up to Kosaka-san.

Kosaka-san getting introduced to the obi and kimono design.

After meeting with Kosaka-san, Mamiya-san went on to meet with Katsuyama-san to further discuss the project. 

Mamiya-san showed Katsuyama-san the rough design of the kimono as well as the base color.  The obi’s basic design is already selected, but the color combination is limitless.  Does Katsuyama-san want to use the same color on the kimono and the obi?  Or does he want to choose a matching, but slightly different color? Or will he choose contrasting colors? 

Mamiya-san told me that it is not easy to dye the obi thread exactly the same color as the kimono.  With obi, they dye the thread first then weave.  With Yuzen kimono, they place colors onto the white silk fabric that is already woven.  Since the order of dyeing and weaving is different, the final look of the color varies even though they use the same pigment.

For this project, Katsuyama-san would weave the obi first using the base color as the anchor color.  Once the obi is woven, Kosaka-san would dye the kimono fabric while closely looking at the completed obi.

After talking to both Kosaka-san and Katsuyama-san, Mamiya-san slightly altered the kimono design.  I had no objection.  I was just thankful that I had these experienced craftsmen taking the time and effort to make my kimono and obi.

Say Good-bye with Flowers

Thank you and Good luck, Consul General

For a change, I didn’t have a problem choosing flowers.  Chrysanthemum was the one I picked at the wholesaler.

The Japanese Consul General in Seattle is going back to Japan at the end of this month, and a farewell party was scheduled with a short notice.  As the current president of Ikebana International Seattle Chapter, I was asked to create a couple of Ikebana arrangements.  My pleasure!

Although no formal law exists, chrysanthemum is widely accepted as Japan’s national flower.  On the front of the passport as well at the entrance of the Consul General’s official residence, the emblem of the chrysanthemum flower occupies the prominent space.

I chose white and yellow chrysanthemums, to be the main characters for my arrangements.  For the arrangement placed next to the podium in the garden, as shown in the photo on the top, I added lily buds to add an accent color.  The oak branches shaped the basic structure of the arrangement, horizontally spread.

Next to the gold screen inside the room, I used the long calla lily to accompany the yellow chrysanthemum, to match the shape of the vase.

Thank you, Consule General, for all the work in Seattle.  Please have a safe trip, and wish you the best of luck in the new assignment!

Kimono Design Determines the Formality

We Love Kimono Project 4

The base color of my kimono is selected.  The next step is to decide on the kimono design.  And an expert’s advice is crucial at this stage if you don’t want to screw up. 

In Western culture, there is certain dress code depending on the occasions.  As a mother, you don’t wear jeans for your child’s wedding reception, but choose a dress, maybe a long one. 

With kimono, such a dress code exists also, only more complicated. 

What determines the formality of a kimono?  There are several factors.

  •  Material

Among different types of material, silk is the most formal.  Kimono made of cotton, linen, or wool, is considered casual and not to be worn on formal occasions.

  • Number and method of crests

Among silk kimono, the ones with crests, either five, three, or one, are more formal.  The more crests, the more formal.  Crests are either dyed or embroidered, and the dyed one is more formal than the embroidered one.

If the kimono has five or three crests, all the crests are dyed.  If the kimono has only one crest, the crest can be either dyed or embroidered.  The dyed one is more formal.

  • Design pattern

A silk kimono with five or three crests has an elaborate design only on the bottom.

A silk kimono with one or no crest can have design all over.  If the design continues across the seam lines on the left shoulder and the bottom, it’s more formal.  If the design is cut off on the seam lines, the kimono is less formal.

Tea gatherings are not as formal as weddings, but they are still considered pretty formal.  Even for the summer kimono, the fabric should be silk, not cotton or linen.  For my kimono, Mamiya-san suggested having one crest dyed on the back, with connected designs on the left shoulder and the bottom.

This type of kimono is called Homongi 訪問着.

Mamiya-san, my retailer, sent me a rough design he sketched.  It reminded me that Mamiya-san majored in art in college. 

How I Celebrate My Sustainability Day

In response to Dancing Elephants prompt 49 of 52

In the US, the first Monday in September is Labor Day.  Everybody enjoys the three-day weekend.  My husband flew to New York City to spend time with his college friends.

Alone at home, I picked two pairs of pants.  Both of them had a tear on the left knee.

In the past weeks, I have gone shopping, searching for new pairs.  I couldn’t find anything I liked.  Nothing was the right style, the right color, or the right texture.  Maybe I was hoping to find exactly the same kind as the torn pants, which were already out of fashion a long time ago. 

Alone at home, I picked two pairs of pants.  Both of them had a tear on the left knee.

I have no idea why only on the left knee, but the tear clearly indicated how much I liked to wear them. 

Left alone at home on the Labor Day weekend, I picked up the torn pants, thread, and needle, and started stitching.  Did I know how to do it?  Not quite, but there were more than enough YouTube videos instructing where to start, what to do, and how to do it. 

The only colors of the tread I had were black and white, so I chose black for my jeans and white for the other pair. 

For several hours, I simply stitched.  I zoomed in so close that I could see how each warp and weft were woven on top of each other.  I even counted how many threads of weft I should skip before poking the needle for the next stitch.

The outcome may not look appealing, but I don’t care.  With my labor of love, these pants have been resurrected.  Instead of being trashed, both pants will continue to give me protection and comfort for several more years.

From now on, when everybody else celebrates Labor Day, I will celebrate my own Sustainability Day!

Analog Way to Choose the Base Color of My Kimono

We Love Kimono Project 3

After choosing the obi design, Mamiya-san moved on to selecting the base color of my kimono.  In order to keep harmony with the kimono and the obi, Mamiya-san suggested using the kimono’s base color as an accent in the obi also.  I agreed.

Which color do I want?

Blue is my favorite color, and my last three cars were all in cobalt blue.  So should be my summer kimono!

“OK, I will send you several sample fabrics via physical mail,” said Mamiya-san.  Why physical mail?  Why doesn’t he simply take a photo of the fabrics and send it to me electronically? I asked. 

“Well, look at the photos of your kimono on the screen.  The same kimono looks quite different from one photo to the other.  It’s too risky to choose the color without seeing it on the real fabric,” said Mamiya-san. 

By then the pandemic situation already started to affect the mail delivery schedule.  We were nervous, but Mamiya-san mailed the sample to me anyway.

The color samples took exactly three weeks to reach me in Seattle, while in a normal situation it would take less than a week. 

Seven pieces of cloth were glued on a sheet of white paper, with the numbers 1 through 7 written next to each piece.  All the pieces looked like the leftovers from rolls of kimono fabric.  Numbers 5, 6, and 7 looked to be the edge of the roll because part of them was left undyed. 

These seven colors were quite different to the naked eye even though they were more or less the wisteria color.  Numbers 1-3 were much brighter than 4 and 5.  Numbers 6 and 7 were dull compared to #1-3.  Number 1 was the most brilliant. 

Once I received the sample fabrics, I chatted with Mamiya-san online.  He asked about Seattle summers. How does the sky look compared to Japan’s summer sky?

“The blue is much clearer than the sky in Japan”, I replied.

Then let’s go with No. 1, he said.

 “I wouldn’t recommend this color to a customer in Japan, but it would be suitable under the blue sky in Seattle,” he said. 

I took a photo of the color sample with my iPhone, uploaded it on my computer, and looked at it on the screen.  Where did the wide variety of shades and shines go?  On my computer screen, most of them look the same!  How could I possibly choose the right color?   

Mamiya-san was right.  I appreciated that he sent me the physical sample. 

By the way, Mamiya-san mentioned that one of the colors is called “Fuji Nando藤納戸.”  Fuji means wisteria, and Nando means storage room.  The color that wisteria flowers would look like in a dim storage room…  Such an intriguing expression to describe a color, isn’t it?

The Starting Point: Obi Design

We Love Kimono Project 2

Although Mamiya-san has produced hundreds of kimono and obi during his long career as a kimono retailer, the We Love Kimono Project was a new challenge for him. 

Previously, Mamiya-san either produced a kimono to match an existing obi, or a new obi to match an existing kimono.  With this project, however, he would produce both a new kimono and a new obi simultaneously.  Where to start? How to communicate with both the obi maker and the kimono maker?  Mamiya-san had many things to explore.

I really wanted the obi to be made by Katsuyama-san.  Although he was not willing to make any more summer obi due to the lack of demand, thanks to Reiko-san’s persuasive pitch, Katsuyama-san agreed to make one for me, utilizing one of Rakufulin‘s designs.

The starting point was choosing the obi design.

Reiko-san sent me photos of two obi designs, recommended by Katsuyama-san.

One was called Shippo七宝. Four oval shapes overlap one another.  With the literal meaning “seven treasures”, the design is one of the traditional Yusoku 有職 designs, cherished by Japanese aristocrats for more than a thousand years.

The other one was called Islamic Flower, an original design of Rakufulin, created from Horie-san’s fabric collections. 

I like both!  How can I choose one?  That’s when Mamiya-san came to rescue me. 

After seeing several photos of me in a kimono, he recommended the second one. “The first one would look a little too soft on you.  The second one is more impactful and better suited for you.”  OK, Mamiya-san.  I will follow your suggestion.  One decision was made.

We Called It “We Love Kimono Project”

Documenting how my summer kimono and obi were made

As soon as the year 2020 began, I started planning my next spring trip back to Japan. One of the itineraries was a visit to Mamiya-san, my new kimono retailer, in his store in Osaka.

Although my kimono collection grew thanks to my mother and her friends handing me down their old ones, I was still lacking a summer kimono formal enough to wear for tea ceremony gatherings.  Since our tea ceremony group in Seattle was planning a special gathering to celebrate its 50th anniversary in the summer of 2021, I convinced myself to get a new one for this occasion.

I emailed Mamiya-san about my plan.  He was excited. Let’s discuss it over dinner!  He would contact Reiko-san of Rakufulin so that she could join.  I was looking forward to meeting them again in Japan. 

Then COVID-19 hit the world…

I had to cancel my trip.  Early April Mamiya-san closed his store.  All of a sudden, business just halted, and Reiko-san had to put her employees on furlough.  Let’s talk, I suggested, and we scheduled for a video chat.

I asked Mamiya-san and Reiko-san if they could choose a summer obi and kimono for me.  Preferably Katsuyama-san’s summer obi.  Reiko-san’s response was shocking.  Katsuyama-san was unlikely to make any more summer obis.  There is just not enough demand any more.  Oh no!  Reiko-san also said this lockdown would push more craftspeople to retire.  No no!  That can’t happen!

“Before it’s too late, please make both kimono and obi for me,”  – Akemi

“Why not have both the kimono and the obi custom made so that they match perfect?” – Mamiya-san

“Let’s document and post the process, on Mamiya-san’s blog in Japanese, and on my blog in English! So that many more people will be interested to have their own kimono custom made” – Akemi

“Rakufulin doesn’t have a website, but it’s time to communicate what we do directly to end customers.” – Reiko-san

“I can help you make a simple website.” – Akemi

“Let’s call this We Love Kimono Project!” – We all agreed.

Pros and Cons of Group Thinking

What I Learned from my Ikebana collaboration experiment

I’ve done it only twice, but what I found from the collaborative Ikebana experiment is interesting enough to share with you.

Last October I was invited to participate in an event to celebrate Color of Biodiversity at Frye Art Museum.  The detail of the event is posted in my previous post.

Since my program was quite popular, Frye Art Museum asked me to come back at their Community Day event earlier this month.  I was more than delighted!

This time the event had no particular theme as to which color to stick with, so I chose the color on my own: Blue!  That’s because I wanted to wear my favorite summer kimono and obi.  All the flowers, although in a variety of kinds and shapes, should be either blue or white in color to match my kimono!

Just like I did last October, I made a smaller arrangement on my own, just to show the visitors as an example. 

For the main arrangement for each visitor to collaborate upon, I only created a platform with branches and a couple of flowers.  My intention was to maintain the basic structure of the arrangement (horizontal), and the focal point (a large hydrangea).

The event started at 11 am.  The door opened, and visitors came in.  Just like I did last October, I asked each visitor to pick one flower and add it to the platform.  Which flower to pick, where to place it in which direction… I left it all to each visitor.  I merely helped them whenever they had difficulty in placing it. 

Nobody said no to my offer.  Everybody picked one flower (sometimes two!), contemplated for a moment (sometimes a long time!), and placed it on the spot they thought the most appropriate. 

By the time the event was over at 2 pm, the bare platform was filled with so many flowers.  About 100 people collaborated to complete the arrangement.  Thank you and congratulations, everyone!

Can you tell the similarity between the collaborative arrangements last October and this month? 

When I prepared the platform, both in October and this month, I intentionally placed the two branches so that the whole structure would be asymmetric.  The overall structure is horizontal, but one side is shorter than the other side.  The horizontal line is a little tilted, from down left to upper right.

The basic structure I intended, however, gradually disappeared.  The wide space initially created with two branches, was evenly divided by long lines of flowers.  White flowers and blue flowers were distributed evenly.  The overall shape of the arrangement looked more and more symmetric. 

By a majority of the people, symmetry and even distribution in the space seem to look most comfortable.  No wonder the two arrangements ended up looking alike.

When I create a flower arrangement, on the other hand, symmetry and evenness are the last thing I want to see, because they look boring.  Break the symmetry, break the evenness.  Can I still create something beautiful? That’s the challenging, and fun part of Ikebana.

The Ikebana arrangement I created by myself lacks that smooth, evenness.  The rough angle, and the asymmetry, might intrigue some but tick off others.  But I dare push to the limit.  That’s my creativity. 

The collaborative Ikebana, gradually smooths out the edge, and eventually becomes a work that the majority of people admire with ease. 

There is nothing wrong with the collaborative work.   But if you want some breakthrough, you might want to work alone first… 

How Salmon Navigate Back Home

A wonder of nature

Though I’ve been to Ballard Locks so many times, I have never seen as many large King Salmon swimming through the fish ladder as this summer!

Whenever we have guests from out of state, we take them to Ballard Locks.  Why?  There are a couple of reasons.  First, it’s only about a mile from our house.  We don’t have to worry much about the notorious Seattle traffic.  Second, it’s visually entertaining.  Many boats move up and down while being locked in the canal, after they sail in and before they sail out, between the seawater in Puget Sound and the fresh water in Lake Union. 

My husband, being an engineer, is eager to show the guests how the locks work to accommodate the different water levels between the seaside and the freshwater side.  The greatness of civil engineering; the ingenuity of human beings, is the highlight in his views. 

What awes me more, however, is salmon, this natural creature!

They were born in the hatchery upstream, miles away from here.  When they were tiny smolts, they swam from the lake, through this fish ladder, which was built alongside the locks,  to Puget Sound, and to the vast ocean. 

After living in the vast ocean, now with such a large body, they make a long journey back to where they were born.  They trace back to the same route that they took when young, with no GPS or map.  Once they reach their birthplace, the females lay eggs and the males fertilize them, and they all die shortly after that.

Salmon have been doing this for many millennia.  A century ago humans altered the journey routes with this concrete ladder.  A century from now, who knows if human beings will be still maintaining this “engineering wonder.”  But I’m sure that salmon will be continuing this journey.  The route might be altered again, but they will somehow figure out the way.

It’s kind of an irony, but in this man-made window, I see the majestic power of nature.  Go salmon!