Tsumugi (cloth)

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Tsumugi (紬) is a traditional slub silk cloth from Japan, though similar textiles are found in other countries. It is a tabby weave material woven from yarn produced using waste silk fibre, which comes in shorter lengths (as a staple fibre), as opposed to yarn produced using longer, filament silk fibres. The short silk fibres are degummed[1] and, traditionally, the yarns are hand-joined to form a continuous length before weaving,[2] a technique also used for cheaper bast fibres. Yarns are joined by twisting the ends to be joined in the same direction, then twisting both ends, bundled together, in the other direction, to make a two-ply yarn at the overlap.[3]

Between 1910 to 1925 (late Taishō to Shōwa era), it became possible to spin and weave tsumugi by machine.[4] Prices dropped drastically, and silk materials and clothing was suddenly within the budget of most Japanese.[5] Stores also began to sell off-the-peg, ready-to-wear kimonos at about this time.[4]

Traditionally a peasant cloth, handmade tsumugi is very labour-intensive to produce, and has become expensive over time, valued as a luxury folk-craft good.

  • A lined (awase) tsumugi kimono.

  • Tsumugi with a dyed mon

  • Tsumugi with a dyed mon, showing slight unevenness in thread diameter.

  • Coin purse. The thicker portions of yarn visible in the weave are called slubs.

  • Another purse with woven stripes

Recognized regional varieties[]

Tsumugi was originally a homespun textile, produced using silk fibre deemed unusable for the production of finer fabrics, and many regional variations existed. Some of these regional variations still exist today and are recognized as meibutsu, famous products of their place of origin.

Name Kanji Traditional sites Notes Example image
Amiito tsumugi Shiga Prefecture Recycled weft threads respun and rewoven to make obi.
Gujo tsumugi 郡上島紬 Hachiman, Gifu
Honba oshima tsumugi 本場大島紬 Amami, Kagoshima
Iida tsumugi 飯田島紬 Iida, Nagano
Kumejima-tsumugi 久米島紬 Kumejima, Okinawa
Murayama-oshima tsumugi 村山大島紬 Musashimurayama, Tokyo
Oitama tsumugi 置賜紬 Oitama regions of production: Oitama tsumugi is a collective term for six different varieties of tsumugi made in the Yamagata region, including:
  • Benibana tsumugi
  • Heiyōgasuri
  • Itajime kogasuri
  • Kusakizome tsumugi
  • Shirataka itajime kogasuri
  • Yokosogasuri
Ojiya tsumugi 小千谷島紬 Ojiya, Niigata
Shinshu tsumugi 信州紬 Nagano Prefecture
Shiozawa tsumugi 塩沢島紬 Shiozawa, Niigata
Tosa men tsumugi Kagami, Kōchi (Kami)
Ueda tsumugi 上田島紬 Ueda, Nagano Ueda tsumugi is always striped and is sometimes referred to as ueda jima (jima meaning "stripes").
Ushikubi tsumugi 牛首紬 Hakusan, Ishikawa
Yūki-tsumugi 結城紬 Yūki, Ibaraki

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Variety of Nishijin textile". Nishijin Textile Industry Association. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Ojiya tsumugi silk". KOGEI JAPAN.
  3. ^ Dusenbury, Mary (1992). "A WISTERIA GRAIN BAG and other tree bast fiber textiles of Japan". Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Kimono Mochi: private kimono collection photographs and text". kimonomochi kimono collection. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. ^ "The lowly komon kimono is the workhorse of the kimono wardrobe, worn for trips to town, to friends houses, in any situation which is outside of the home but informal. Despite their name, which means 'small design', komon can have large or small imagery, and the repeat can be staggered widely. painted, closely stencilled, woven, Printed, striped, spotted, shibori, silk, jinken, modern polyester--if it's a repetitive design, short-sleeved, and without kamon, then it's a komon". Kimono mochi: kimono collection.
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