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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紗 | Sha | Plainweave Hitoe Gauze | Fabric #18

Sha (紗) is the older hand woven predecessor to Ro fabric. Sha fabrics often made up the summer kimono, kosode and yukata of the Heian period down to today, and which are normally adopted globally most popularly in the Haori which employ their innovative fabric potentials for summerwear. Woven using the staple Karamiori weave, the weave allows the wearer to reveal the underneath fabric with subtle hinting and shading from the transparency of the weave and width of the eyes that Sha has over Ro. Twists in the warp threads allow larger eyes than Ro eyes, creating emerging patterns in Sha designs.[1]

Heian Sha Example (1922, PD) Tsutomu Ema

Momiji Monsha (2023, CC4.0) TykeLass

Sha began to be made in the Heian period by hand, for the elites of Japanese society to wear as formalwear in the sweltering heatwaves of July and August which Sei Shonagan believed to be unbecoming of feminine propriety.[1] Unfortunately, it was difficult to dye the natural fibers used to make handmade Sha, so Ro was created in the Edo period to do so.[1] By the Meiji period, this was made redundant as Sha fibers could be made using machines and the nature of these light designs made it easy to make fashionable pictures of ladies in revealing hitoe. In the modern day, Sha is made by machine, creating Monsha ( 紋紗 | Pattern Sha) which is made using a mix of Leno and Plain weaves, but most often regular Sha is worn daily by monks.[1]

Bibliography

[1] https://rosha.jp/faq/02_about_ro-sha/ro_sha_chigai/

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絽 | Ro | Ro silk | Fabric #17

Ro ( 絽 ) silk fabric is a thin, see through fabric used to make Hitoe ( 一重 | unlined kimono ). It is most often worn in hot weather, which in Japan is between the June to September months. Woven using Karamiori ( | Mojiri weave ), this is what makes the fabric easy to ventilate and gives it its line like gap effects known as (horizontal) eyes. Ro is made by weaving warp threads with an odd number of weft threads to create these see through eyes. Ro can be used in any part of Wafuku production, even undergarments. There exist 3, 5, 13 eye gaps known as Ohonro, Ranro which follows a gap pattern of 3-5-7, and Tatero where the gaps are made by reversing the gap process to an odd number of warp threads, creating vertical eyes.[1]  

Machine Ro Weave with Embroidery (2019, CC4.0) Ineffablebookkeeper

Ro began to made in the Edo period (circa 1600) and existed to be worn as formal summer wear for the rich and monks. Sha fabrics (a more transparent Gauze like weave) was the basis for the Ro weave, with Ro created to allow finer types of dyes and patterns to be made onto the textiles surface often using stencils, painting and sometimes embroidery.[1][2] This allowed patterns like the Mon to be added to Kimono without the blurring effect of Sha fabrics. During the industrial age, mass produced Ro fabrics began to made using the Leno weave and may have made the majority of exported and everyday Ro fabrics during the 19th century and early 20th century.[1] It seems hitoe were also popular with quite a number of the liberally minded living in Edwardian Japan.[3] In the modern day, Tomesode, Houmongi, Tsukesage, Komon, Nagajuban, and detachable Eri are made using Ro, but this is dwindling with the death of new buyers.[1]

Bibliography

[1]  https://rosha.jp/faq/02_about_ro-sha/ro_sha_chigai/ 

[2] https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/kimono-fabrics

[3] My dodgy 1920s own research into art movements and writers circles.

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結城紬 | Yuki-Tsumugi | Yuki Silk | Fabric #16

Yuki-Tsumugi is a type of traditional Ibaraki silk. Traditionally, Yuki silk is made by taking the silk from boiled Cocoons, and spun by hand into Yarn. The yarns are placed appropriately with Ikat (resist dying) being applied to the yarns in the pattern desired and then using the Jibata hand loom, passing these warp and weft yarns through to create the Tanmono bolt.[1] Yuki Tsumugi is often today used for wearing in the winter as it is a very thick, heavy fabric when made up with linings, which does not chime with the Western idea about what 'silk' should feel like. To make one Kimono takes a weaver 15 days.[3]

Yuki Tsumugi Yarns (2017, CC4.0) タバコはマーダー

Yuki was brought into Japan according to legend around the time of the infamous Carpenter of Nazareth, but more likely somewhere between the introduction of silk around 500 CE or during the tailend of the Heian period, around 1200 CE.[2] It historically accurate to begin Yuki history proper around 1602 when it was presented as a gift to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). As a fabric, it is rather plain and has historically been used to siginify an 'earthy' fabric. In 1873, it was used at the Vienna World Exposition to identify a 'Japanese textile', and is currently practiced by 130 known craftspeople. These are backed up by the fact that Yuki has been an IICPJ (Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan) since 1956.

[1] See Fabrics #2

[2] See Fabrics #3 under TLDR

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABki-tsumugi

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縮緬 | Chirimen | Crispe | Fabrics #8

Chirimen is a plain woven silk which has a bumpy finish or Shibo, to the touch, with a lotta density. Most Chirimen are worn by older women, and I personally do not like the feel of them, they give me the bejeebies. Specialities like Tango Chirimen is known as a preferential fabric for Yuzen prints for Kimono.[1] Whilst mostly often silk, Chirimen can also be made from Wool or Polyester. It is often used for Kimono, Furoshiki, Kanzashi and as an everyday use sewing fabric.[3] Chirimen is one of the most common fabrics used to make Kimono still.[4]

Modern Mon Chirimen (2015, CC4.0) Naooan

Chirimen is made by using highly twisted undeveloped yarn threads. This becomes a plain weave after being processed through a Hatcho Machine, sometimes Jacquard Looms. Hatcho Machines keep the weft threads wet whilst they spin over the machine to prevent breakage, being spun 3-4000 times a metre of threads. Looser Warps threads are then introduced. After weaving, the textile is checked for sericin (leftover silk worm proteins gunk) and during the removal of sericin, the textile shrinks by around a third. This tightening of alternating threads creates the Shibo effect, like in Shijira-Ori.[2] Factors which affect the final bumpy effect include the amount of weft twisting, fibre denier and the distribution of these across the design frame. For example, weft threads can also be left 'floating', or exposed and knotted, tied off and to create pompom like patterns in the final weave.[1] Tango chirimen uses left hand warp twists (Z-twist) and right hand weft twists (S-twist). Hana or Nagahama chirimen is made by alternating Z-twist and S-twist weft threads.[4][5]

 Types of Chirimen include:  

Kawari Chirimen: Very fine crimping created using one twisted weft thread followed by an un-twisted thread

Hitokoshi Chirimen: Otherwise known as the Nagahama twist, one of the most common Chirimen with a fine alternating twist patterns in the weft [5]

Futakoshi/Kodai Chirimen: Fine crimping patterns formed from two "Z - twist" weft yarns alternating with 2 "S-twist" weft yarns  

Mon Chirimen: Woven to create a pattern which stands out over all the fabric and any printed design [4]  

Historically, Chirimen came to Japan from China at the end of the 1500s when it was brought in by Chinese merchants.[4] Deposited in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, an area known for its textile weaving, it became woven by local weavers. Most of these woven takemono were white, as it was easier for dying rather than being woven in. By 1720, it had spread to Tango Province, today the seaside border of Kyoto, via a Nishijin apprentice, Kinuya Saheiji. By 1754, it had spread to Nagahama, where production reached its height between 1854-1860.[5] The Meji restoration which brought in mechanised production, brought the decline of Chirimen. During the 19th century, Jacquard Looms were introduced into the process to make complex weaves easier to accomplish, in the modern day, punch cards are replaced by computer programming. Between 1912-1926, Chirimen as with many other 'Wafuku' saw a revival in popularity.[5] Modern designers include Reiko Sudo (1953-present).[1] 

Fabrics #9 will be on Nishijin-Ori.

NHK also has a segment on Chirimen : https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/journeys/20210105/2007430/

Bibliography

[1] https://www.japanhouselondon.uk/discover/stories/tango-chirimen/

[2] See Fabrics #7

[3] https://onokimono.com/2017/08/09/what-is-chirimen-crepe-textile/

[4] https://www.rochestertextile.com/post/398841446836/japanese-crepe-fabrics-chirimen-kinsha

[5] http://www.kimono.or.jp/dictionary/eng/hamachirimen.html

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