Her Haughtynesses Decree

Sunday, November 21, 2021

西陣織 | Nishijin Ori | Nishijin Silk Weave | Fabrics #9

Nishijin Ori is the fabric woven by weavers originally as a thick silk textile in the area of Nishijin in Western Tokyo which is one of the most common secondhand textiles in Japan today due to its proliferation as a textile. You may most commonly see Nishijin-Ori not on Kimono, but on Wamono as the little gold embellished textiles you see on everything from Kakemono backgrounds, traditional Architectural Embellishments to the modern remake shops which often use old Nishijin-ori Obi to make garments which require stiffer structured textiles such as womens handbags, table runners and curtains.

Nishijin-Ori Fukuro Obi (2009, CC3.0) Ichiro Wada of Ichiroya

The designs of Nishijin-Ori have long been cross-cultural. Nishijin patterns have long been influenced by textiles from other cultures such as China, Europe and the Middle East, just as Sarasa Chintz was with India.[6] You can see this is in Veludo, which Japanese weavers were influenced by circa the 16th century Portuguese Nanban trade in Velvet, which is found in some Edo Nishijin Kimono weaves. Nishijin Ori designs are thus considered to have reached their peak in luxury around the early Edo period therefore.[2] Modern designs often include patterns and designs from all around the world, although Ancient Egypt is often also easily found.

Nishijin Donsu Textile Sample (c1750-1860) Unknown

Nishijin ori is made first having your pattern, as the weft threads need to be dyed before weaving begins, which is called Itozome-Ori (Thread Dyeing | 糸染え). The stretched warp and weft threads overlap, being woven upside down in the Omeshi ( Chirimen thick weave | お召し) style which leaves a bumpy texture, historically on a Takahata loom.[2]  The textile is used to make patterns which make use of dyes in the weaving process, rather than dying afterwards.[1] The threads are very thick, so they last a long time. Around 12 different styles such as Kara-Ori (Chinese Weave | 唐織) and Donsu (Satin Weave | 緞子) have been officially recognised by the Japanese Government as Culturally Important.[3] Nishijin is today made on an automated digital loom. 

Historically, Nishijin has its origins in China, coming to Japan by 499, most likely coming with the Chinese-Korean Hata Clan.[2][4][5] By 794 the Nara court began increasing their demand for silk textiles, leading to more weavers and greater refinements in the establishment of Nishijin-Ori as a Japanese textile used to make Junihitoe.[2][5] In the 14th century, Noh began to become popular with the court. This is also increased the need for silk weavers and the industry branched out into the production of costumes in the Kara-Ori style as well as court garment Kimono.[2] During the Onin War (1467-1477), local workers dispersed to flee the violence of the Western and Eastern factions of Japanese warlords to Sakai. They returned by 1478 to the Western 'Nishijin' fort, then the Western warlord headquarters which is where the name Nishijin comes from. During the 17th century, Nishijin began to be used as a common cloth used for making womens Kimono. In 1872, the Takahata was replaced by the Jacquard loom.[2] Nishijin was recognised as a traditional craft in 1976.[1] A large amount of the industry today is also found in art preservation and textile conservation.

The next fabric series post will be on Benibana Dye and its use as fabric in KTC.

Bibliography

[1] https://www.world.jal.co.jp/world/en/guidetojapan/detail/index.html?spot_code=nishijinori

[2] Begin Japanology : Nishijin-Ori, Peter Barakan, 2009, Season 2, Episode 1, NHK

[3] https://db2.the-noh.com/edic/2018/03/donsu.html

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hata_clan

[5] See Fabric series #3

[6] See Regulation of Foreign Trade (1615-1640) section on Bijin #3 post

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