A history woven in silk
THEY SAY A SOCIETY MUST LEARN FROM ITS PAST TO IMPROVE the present. In Ueda City, Nagano prefecture in Japan, a family business now being run by its third generation keeps a revered tradition alive. Their business is hand weaving kimonos. Japanese kimonos
It starts with silkworms. Then there is the process of spinning the silk to make thread. Then the threads are dyed using mostly natural dyes, like those from apple bark and chardonnay grapes. And that is only the first step.
Threads are carefully set on looms which make the intricate patterns possible – there are traditional “secret” hooks of wires and nails, wooden spools and finally the reference for patterns. There is a hundred-year-old notebook passed on from their neighbors of traditional weaving styles made during the Sanada era (500 years ago) on to 100 years ago when this notebook was filled with various patterns and designs worn during the Samurai years.
The Koiwai family have always been in kimono hand weaving but today, they may be the only ones left preserving traditional practices which otherwise would be lost and forgotten. This is why Ryoku and Karina, a brother and sister team of the third generation, decided to pursue this business, along with their mother who still attends to customers who seek out their house, tucked deep among the city’s narrow streets and lanes.
Ryoku showed us the paper bags of wood chips of apple bark – each variety of apple giving a certain hue to the threads. He is careful not to mix Fuji apple with other varieties, thus they are separately bagged. The same is done with grape skin that has dried – there is a Chardonnay to give a certain type of beige, and perhaps a Cabernet for a deeper tint.
They also use natural seaweed to produce a “wax” that coats the silk threads to make it easier to weave. No one can deny, however, that chemical dyes also need to be used if one desires a brighter red or purple hue on a pattern. But as much as possible, naturals are used for shawls and other smaller pieces.
A full kimono uses 13 meters of cloth with a width of about 30 centimeters. Each piece of kimono material has a certification from Ueda City, a stamp from a certifying agency that seeks to preserve handwoven materials and a serial number to ensure authenticity.
It is a serious decision to preserve a traditional craft that is now becoming rare and truly in danger of getting lost. Thank God for families like the Koiwais who still persevere despite the challenges faced in these modern times, when almost everything is machine-made and done cheaply. Theirs is traditional, slow and expensive. But they do have a specialty market – they can be gifts for people who have everything.
While we were trying on our kimono for a souvenir photo, we realize how much time it also takes to wear one. There are about five sashes and belts that hold everything up. Add to that the obi (outer sash) which Karina helps you wear like a local. And don’t forget the special socks that separate your big toe from the other digits to be able to wear Japanese slippers.
It would take me hours to put this outfit together all by myself but Karina, of course, does this every day in probably a shorter time like 15 to 20 minutes.
The whole dressing up is a slow process which is like Japanese poetry. And then we sit down for a cup of tea with local candies and pickles. All on a tatami (grass) mat on which a low table with pillows are set.
I love tradition. This is the Japanese way of living, at a slow pace, nothing hurried or hectic. Sometimes, we all have to look back to the past, to appreciate or to correct our now hectic and pressured present.
Should you find yourself in Tokyo, take the Shinkanzen to Nagano, get off at Ueda City and take a taxi to the Koiwai atelier. While in the city, visit NABO café where their mission is to gather and sell as many second hand books as possible while serving good Haluta pastries and good coffee, too.
And the Uedajo Castle is a nice place to visit for a walk in the garden, a visit to the shrine and the choosing of prayers and gifts for just about every reason or purpose (passing the exams, finding a boyfriend, etc).
Ueda City is a quiet town with lots of history and I’m happy my overnight stay was well planned and efficiently executed. Leave that to the Japanese hosts and my able interpreter-book writer, now friend, Akiko Terai. Even if she is six months pregnant, petite Akiko walked with me all over Uedajo as we toured the city on foot because it was such a short 20-minute walk from our hotel to Uedajo.
Ueda also became famous because of a telenovela “Sandamaru” shot near Uedajo last year. It is about the fortification built by Sanada Nobushige during the Osaka invasion in 1615.
It’s a different side of Japan. More traditional, much quieter and filled with history of how the Sanada family preserved the impregnable castle, the town and was the only family that preserved its history.
And that’s a good thing to know and be a part of.