Arimatsu Shibori 
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Tie-dyeing has evolved in many cultures around the world, and can be seen on fabrics made thousands of years ago in Latin
America, Africa, India, and China and around Asia. It entered Japan at least 1300 years ago from China, along with the
Chinese style of dress, and was interpreted in a particularly Japanese fashion.
One of the most famous locations for Shibori in Japan is Arimatsu in Nagoya. When he united Japan, the first Shogun,
Tokugawa Ieyasu of
Okazaki, moved the capital
of Japan to Edo (now Tokyo). Ieyasu required that all the Daimyo or feudal lords traveled to Edo every other year to swear
allegiance to him, and established 53 stations on the road between Osaka and Edo for them to rest during the journey. To
ensure their safety, he encouraged the foundation of villages around these stations, one of which was Arimatsu, the
forty-second station on the Tokaido, which was settled in 1608 by eight families.
The basic technique of Arimatsu Shibori
is to draw a design on a piece of fabric (usually silk or cotton), then to tie very tight knots with thread around points
of the fabric. The fabric is then dyed; since the dye does not penetrate the knots, when they are untied there is a pattern
of dyed and non-dyed areas. This can be repeated many times to produce patterns of various colors.
Shibori was originally an art of the poor. In feudal Japan, many people could not afford to buy expensive fabrics like
cotton or silk, so clothes were often made of cheap hemp fabrics. People could not afford to replace clothes regularly
either, so they would repair and re-dye them, and the art of Shibori evolved as a means of making old clothes look new.
During the long period of peace under the
Tokugawa shogunate, many different arts
flourished, and many different techniques and local forms of Shibori emerged.
Shibori developed along two separate paths: as the method of decorating the silk used for producing kimonos for the
aristocracy of Japan (largely carried out in Kyoto), and as a folk art differing from
region to region.
While building a castle in Nagoya for his son, Ieyasu used workers from all over Japan. One group from Oita brought with
them the techniques of Shibori, and the local families developed the technique to produce the particular beauty of Arimatsu
Shibori. Travelers along the Tokaido road would buy cloths and towels made by the people of Arimatsu.
During the Tokugawa period, the merchant class was relatively powerless, and it seems that they spent large amounts of
money on various recreational activities, including buying elaborate kimonos which served to boost the industry. With the
introduction of large scale mechanization and modernization in the textile industry following the
Meiji Restoration, railways removed a lot of the traffic from the Tokaido and seriously threatened the
industry in Arimatsu. In response, many mechanization processes were developed to improve the efficiency of the production
of Shibori, but it was still a labor-intensive process. However, with the popularity of yukata until the Second World War,
the industry enjoyed relative prosperity.
The depression following the Second World War reduced the demand for expensive silk Shibori, but the economic boom of the
1960s saw a return to popularity for the kimono and an increased demand for the skills of the artisans.
Kyoto had always
been the home of the more expensive silk dyeing for kimonos, but the artisans of Arimatsu expanded their range and
experimented with the material, enjoying considerable success. However, with the advent of artificial fabrics and dyes
and fully mechanized production of fabrics, Arimatsu could no longer compete on the large scale it had before, and Shibori
returned to a handmade high-quality high-price artifact.
Most of the artisans of Arimatsu worked out of their houses, meaning that the architecture of the town is quite unique and
is in itself a national treasure. Since most of the work is manual, the same pattern produced with the same materials will
be different depending on the artisan. Each person is specialized in one of the particular techniques, and often several
people will work together to produce a single work
Some of the basic techniques:
- Miura Shibori - named after a Doctor's wife who brought the technique to Arimatsu from Shikoku. Whereas most Shibori
is made by tying knots around points of material, Miura Shibori consists of looped binding, keeping out less dye. It
produces softer effects and is much cheaper. Commonly used for common clothes like yukata.
- Arashi Shibori ("storm" Shibori). A length of cloth is folded and wrapped around a four-meter pole. The folding
method produces a storm-like effect of lines and dashes, hence the name.
- Kumo Shibori ("spider web" Shibori). Arimatsu is famous for the quality of its handmade Kumo Shibori. While it is
possible to produce a highly regular spider-web pattern by machine, artisans in Arimatsu are renowned for the regularity
of their hand-made kumo Shibori.
- Nui Shibori - ("stitched" Shibori). The material is sewn to form the pattern before dyeing.
- Suji Shibori - hand folded over a rope core in a similar fashion to arashi Shibori, then bound and dyed.
The material is then dyed, dried, and then carefully untied.
The untying is one of the most important phases - it is vital not to distort the material or the entire piece and
months of work are ruined. Finally, the material is steamed and stretched to remove creases.
You can find lots of information about Shibori in English at the following sites:
Shibori:
http://www.shibori.org/
Arimatsu Shibori:
http://www.mms-net.com/shibori/shiborie.html
Tours - Japan Discovery visits Arimatsu.
Click here for more information regarding when Discovery visits this destination.
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