In the second half of July 2024 I had the pleasure of staying for 10 days as an intern at Shimogawa Orimono, a producer of Kurume Kasuri (ikat) in Yame city, Fukuoka prefecture.
Upon my first visit to Shimogawa Orimono earlier in the year, third-generation leader Kyozo Shimogawa gave me a tour of their factory and showroom, as well as a presentation on their production process and business model.
Shimogawa Orimono creates original and innovative kasuri designs. They work with a Kurume Kasuri cooperative to have their threads machine-bound with starched cord and dyed in indigo or chemical dyes by respective skilled artisans. In their own factory space, these dyed threads are woven by belt-powered looms into fabric using warp, weft, and double ikat designs, then washed and processed to a finished product for wholesale or special order.
The showroom, displaying kasuri fabrics produced by Shimogawa Orimono throughout the years.
While working alongside Kyozo-san, his family, and the factory employees I was lucky to observe, and myself practice, the delicate processes involved in the creation of their fabrics. Each person applying their honed skills to the many steps in production, they worked together in excellent collaboration.
I was able to try my hand at winding skeins of thread onto bobbins, preparing warp threads for beaming, joining new warp to an existing on a loom, tying a simple kasuri design, starching bundles of thread, and washing/drying finished fabrics. I was able to witness the keen sense applied to adjusting the kasuri pattern of both warp and weft during and in preparation for weaving.
Joining new warp threads to those previously used.
Tying a simple free-form kasuri pattern.
Sizing starched threads.
During my stay, Kyozo-san agreed to use some paper thread I had previously spun and dyed in a kasuri pattern to make a sample on their looms as an experiment. The original kasuri pattern was designed for a different width of fabric, but this mismatched arrangement with black cotton warp has its own charm, like light reflecting on a pond at sunset.
This is the intended look of the thread I made, woven here on Kashiki Seishi's showroom loom in Ino, Kochi prefecture, using Kashiki's paper thread as warp.
Kyozo-san encouraged me in my interest in creating my own original kasuri patterns. I experimented with this weft kasuri design, meant to be oriented in four different ways and matched up to create an abstract visage of a fisherman in a sun hat bent over water, showing a reflection.
Here I am with Kyozo-san and some of the factory employees, who welcomed me so kindly.
Shimogawa Orimono has their sights set forward, attempting to bring about prosperity for their constituents and their craft. Kyozo-san seems to work ceaselessly to educate others about Kurume Kasuri and be involved on a global scale, collaborating with artists or companies domestic and foreign. They have welcomed many various artists from around the world to learn about their works through hands-on experience by helping in the factory, and have collaborated with some of them to create new original kasuri designs.
I am incredibly grateful to Kyozo-san, his family, and all the factory employees. It was a very educational experience, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with such welcoming and skilled individuals. Having been shown an example of positivity and teamwork amidst pragmatic productivity, I feel better-informed about what a well-oiled operation can look like. The delicate hand-skills and craftsman’s sense employed in their factory, which I’ve only started learn, have given me a sense of empowerment in manipulating materials with precision. I’ll treasure the experience, and hope to return someday and continue learning about their craft and business.
Check out their website for more information about their business and production methods https://oriyasan.com/en/
And you can read a review here of my experience written by myself and Kyozo Shimogawa https://oriyasan.com/en/interview/20240807/