Home from Japan and still in a jet lag haze with fading blue fingernails, someone asked me this week : “why indigo?” Filled up with inspiration and having learned so much in Japan, it was actually very easy for me to answer!
It is because I will never, ever be done learning about it. It is an endless thread of ecology, cultural history, chemistry, and potential for creative expression.
I brought back countless yards of fabric and pounds of sukumo (fermented Japanese indigo) and even some persicaria tinctoria seeds from farms I visited. I can smell the fermented vats on my clothes as I slowly unpack my bags. It was a trip that tested my bounds (traveling with our 2-year-old son, who is a trooper, for one). It will likely take me months to process all of the experience from the trip but I want to share some highlights and reflections with you.
Katazome at Aikuma in Tokyo
Aikuma is an amazing resource for Japanese dyes and tools (international shipping is very affordable + straightforward) and an incredible retail shop and workshop space for those traveling to or local toTokyo.
- I first took a katazome (rice paste resist) workshop almost ten years ago. Since then, I have made countless batches of Katazome at home. Definitely with varying degrees of success! In preparation for this workshop, I made a LOT of katazome this summer. I wanted to make sure I came with all of my questions.
- I spent six hours with Morito Yamazaki, my teacher. He showed me his method of making katazome, guided me through cutting stencils on kakishibu paper, application, pasteboard preparation, indigo dyeing, and rinsing.
- Aikuma translates to “Indigo Bear,” named for the current owner Yasuda’s grandfather Kuma who founded Aikuma. Yasuda shared the rich history and the entire library of Aikuma with me - it started as the go-to production dye and design space for hanten for all kinds of industries - firefighters, contractors, grocers, everyone! Now, they have evolved into a modern dyer's heaven.
Starting sukumo with AiAii on Awaji Island
Sally Hancox and her husband Junichi Okada have a farm on Awaji Island where they grow persicaria tinctoria in addition to a beautiful studio space where they host workshops and have a retail space.
- I helped Sally start their sukumo in a small nedeko (sleeping room for the indigo) with dried leaves from this past growing season. All in all, it was a couple hours of shoveling, wetting down the leaves, and shaping it into a mound. The next day, Sally sent me a photo and the pile of leaves had lost half its height! Sally shared she would continue to add more dry leaves as the level continued to naturally drop.
- I really appreciated the very realistic approach that Sally brings to creating her sukumo. Sally and Junicho fabricated some of the tools themselves, and the farm equipment is brilliantly reinvented from other uses - they use a tea harvester to harvest and process the fresh leaves. Obviously, they have been doing this for many years and have dialed in their approach. They also have young kids, so it felt very relatable to me - you just find a way to get it done.
- We ended the day together dyeing and sipping indigo leaf tea in her studio, musing over the great mysteries of indirubin and swapping our favorite strategies of coaxing out purples from our indigo plants.
- Aiaii is open for private workshops and if you are in the area, you must check out their retail shop!
Furusho Dye Mill with Michiko in Tokushima
- I was able to visit Furusho because a friend’s mom called them for me from Japan! I was just grateful to shadow Michiko during a busy workday. She works closely with her father Toshiharu, who is a sixth generation master dyer. We used translation apps to verbally communicate, since my Japanese is very limited. (3 months of daily Duolingo helped but - oh! - there is so much to learn).
- Michiko buzzed about their warehouse space, where they have a screen printing area for katazome, buckets full of lime, many large ~60 gallon sukumo indigo vats, with piles of sukumo bagged in the corner. She popped from vat to vat with yardage and shibori projects. I was lucky enough to catch her as she was mixing a fresh sukumo vat, so I learned her approach to the process.
Workshop at Buaisou in Tokushima
Buaisou is a studio, farm, and shop that is deeply intentional and highly curated.
- We took a tour of their farm, which of course was full of persicaria tinctoria fields that had gone to seed (some of which I took home!), the rest of the leaves had been harvested and were drying in their large greenhouses. They showed us their nedeko, where the sukumo would be made. The season was very late this year, since the summer had no rain and, in contrast, September was very wet. They were about a month behind their typical schedule.
- The floors of the nedeko were made from local clay, which would need to be wetted and mended before the dry leaves were spread.
- Our workshop dyed their new work aprons in sukumo vats, while of course sipping indigo tea and swooning over the space.
- Founded by Kakuo Kaji and Kenta Watanabee, whos studio I visited another day, learned about sukumo production from Osamo Nii, one of the most prominent sukumo making facilities in the world, just down the road from their farm.
Sukumo vats at Watanabee’s in Tokushima
- Kenta Watanabee is one of the most open and generous teachers I’ve met. He sat with me for over an hour at his desk, talking through every step and materials that goes into building a sukumo vat. It is an act that he approaches with both great intention and ease. His generosity of knowledge seems to come from a drive to keep the craft alive. He welcomes ongoing questions and dialogue from students and dyers all over the world. His studio space had a great, easy vibe, with two production dyers working alongside him - Morgan and Megumi.
- He showed me around their farm, which also has a nedeko made from clay harvested on nearby Awaji Island.
- I met Watanabee through Dr. Yoshiko Wada. When I told her I was visiting Tokushima, she immediately recommended I visit with Kenta.
- If you are looking ot start your own sukumo vat at home, Watanabee's sells sukumo kits and it is also carried by Slow Fibers Studios.
Arimatsu
- Since I started working with natural dyes thirteen years ago, I have always wanted to visit Arimatsu. It is the birthplace of shibori. We stayed on the old Tōkaidō road, the major road connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Kyoto
- We only stayed here for about 24 hours, and we visited on a weekday (which is when most of the shops and museums are closed - visit on a weekend if you go!). However, by the grace of hospitality and serendipity, we had the most incredible experience.
- Since we were traveling with our 2-year old, we went to EVERY park in every town we stayed in. (I couldn’t tell you how many slides he went down.) While enjoying a lovely Arimatsu playground, a local approached us and started chatting up Lorenzo. We told him about our trip so far, and he said something along the lines of- “wait. Are you a dyer? and you’re here on a weekday?? Everything is closed! wait right here! fifteen minutes! i will make a call.””
- Rikki, our new friend, came back a few minutes later with a set of keys to the House of Oka, which was the major shibori wholesaler on the Old Tokaido road. Rikki gave us a private tour of the house.
Other places I loved:
- Nippori Fabric Street in Tokyo - simply the BEST!
- Historical Museum Ainoyakata in Tokushima - local indigo history museum. So beautiful, so informative. They also do a sukumo dyeing experience
- Country Music Bar in Tokushima for Karaoke. We just stopped in on a whim after driving by. The BEST.
- Tokushima Wooden Toy Museum - Aside from the dye studios, this might have been our favorite stop on the trip. (It was definitely my son's favorite).
- Suzusan - lifestyle and clothing shop in Arimatsu that also hosts workshops. Book a workshop in advance - we were too slow!
- Itowa- a studio and shop run by Takahiro Sato, an indigo dyer in Arimatsu - I was surprised by how few people in town still worked with natural dyes and was so happy to find his work!
- Maruki Arimatsu - best little matcha stand and shop
- Kyoto Shibori Museum - thorough and small museum on the history of shibori. They also do dyeing workshops!
- Tanaka Nao - dye, fabric, and notions store in Kyoto
That is all for now -- there are SO many more placed we could have visited - the small villages around Kyoto, Okinawa to visit the strobilanthes plants, and Takasaki City Dye Plant Botanical Garden in Gunma are on the list for our next trip. I'd love to hear if you go, or if you've been before... reach out!
