羽二重 | Habutai | Plain weave silk | Fabric #20

Habutai ( feather-soft silk | 羽二重 ) is a basic plain weave silk. Habutai is commonly used to make the inner lining of some Kimono, most often summer Kimono. The thickness is measured in Mommes with 4 being sheer, 8 being lightweight, and 16 or more being rather heavy.[1][4] Also known by some as Pongee, this is the most common sort of silk you will see in Japanese silk types and is known for defining the silky feeling of Kimono. Habutai is made using unweighted raw silk yarn, leaving a handmade feel to the fabric.[3]

Vantines double page advertisement selling Habutai (1914, PD) archive.org

Yes the 1560 fashion comment made me laugh too

Historically, Habutai was woven in Japan on handlooms to be used in Kimono and was included as part of the Sumptuary laws banned fabrics for lower classes during the time of Tokugawa Ienari (1773-1841 | 徳川 家斉 ), an edict enforced by the likes of Mizuno Tadakuni ( 1794-1851 | 水野忠邦 ) onto Kabuki actors for example.[1][2][9] Habutai was originally woven on handlooms in smaller operations and workshops and was first exported from Japan in 1877 by Naohiro Koriki (active 1877-1887).[6][7] Habutai is a very taken for granted silk, serving as a functional, if luxurious place in the history of KTC, as the Meiji Emperor (1852-1912) for example gifted two rolls of Habutai on an 'imperial' tour around Yamanishi Prefecture to his accomadation hosts in 1880 as thanks.[5] The industrial scale at which products like Meisen were produced at by the 1890s when Habutai began to be widely exported to Europe and the US, beget an industrial enterprise by 1905 with output declining in production and export after 1920.[6][7] Exports increased again in 1937 and 1940 due to regulations and rationing in the Pacific War period for Japan, increasing after 1955.[8] Due to costs, today Habutai is mostly woven in other Asian economies as a blend of rayon and silk warp threads for things like scarves, parachutes and summer clothing.[1]

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habutai

[2] https://www.arket.com/en_gbp/about/knowledge/habotai.html#:~:text=Knowledge%20Habotai%20(or%20habutai)%20means,in%20Japan%2C%20Korea%20and%20China.

[3] https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Habutai

[4] https://blog.patra.com/2017/06/28/the-different-types-of-silk/

[5] https://sake-shichiken.com/300_years_of_history

[6] The Rise and Fall of Industrialization and Changing Labor Intensity: The Case of Export-Oriented Silk Weaving District in Modern Japan, Tomoko Hashino, Keijiro Otsuka, 2015, pp.1-6 | Available online at https://www.econ.kobe-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1501.pdf 

[7] History of the Fukui Silk Textile Association of Japan, Buntaro Matsui, 1921, pp.7-21

[8] The Economic History of Japan 1600-1990; Economic history of Japan 1914-1955, Takafusa Nakamura, Akira Hayami, Kōnosuke Odaka, 1999, p.42, Volume 3

[9] The Economic Aspects of the History of the Civilization of Japan, Yosaburō Takekoshi, 1930, p.230, Volume 3

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