Nishijin 西陣
The kimono has been associated with the image of Japan for centuries. Within Japan itself, Kyoto has been the main center for kimono and textile production for more than 1000 years. Although demand for kimono decreased dramatically once Western clothes were introduced to Japan during the Meiji period (1868-1912), Kyoto still is ‘The Holllywood’ for kimonos and its textiles.
Although nowadays most Japanese associate the name "Nishijin" with textile production, the origin of the name "Nishijin" dates back to the 15th century, when the Onin War (1467 -1477) broke out in Kyoto and lasted for 11 years. Nishijin was the area of Kyoto where the Western Army (Nishi' meaning West' and jin' meaning camp') was located. When the war ended, the weavers who had fled from Kyoto came back to the city and settled down in Nishijin area. Eventually, this area of textile production came to be called "Nishijin".
Even though the name "Nishijin" only originated about 500 years ago, the tradition of textile weaving that continues to this day, goes back to the Kofun Period (250 - 538). Around the 5th and 6th centuries, the Hata clan, immigrants from the Eurasian Continent, settled in Yamashiro Province, which is now known as Uzumasa, Kyoto, and introduced the techniques of sericulture and silk weaving.
In 794AD, along with the transfer of the capital from Nara to Heian, a government office called ‘Oribe no Tsukasa’ was established to manage textiles for the imperial court. After middle of the Heian period (from 794 - 1185), those government owned textile workshops began to decline, but more craftmen gathered and began to freely produce textiles outside the control of the imperial court. In addition, the twill weave techniques were introduced from the Song Dynasty and developed its own twill fabric. It was highly valued for decoration of shrines and temples because of its thickness. Since then, Nishijin has been one of the most important crafts in Japan for more than 1200 years.
Nishijin-ori is a general term for "Sakizome patterned fabrics produced in Kyoto (Nishijin), which is characterized by high-mix low-volume production. The main characteristic of Nishijin textiles is that the threads are dyed before being woven into fabric diagonally. It is thus very complicated and requires many people to be involved in the production process. They are divided into designers, MON (design template) planners, weavers, arrangement and process workers, thread dyers and many others. Hand looms, handicraft looms and power looms are used in the manufacturing process. Nishijin textiles are produced in small quantities but come in great variety, which makes many of the works unique. Nishijin was designated as a national traditional craft on February 26, 1976.
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