Difference between Silk Painting and Yuzen? 友禅とシルク・ペインティングの違い？

今間、9月にオーストラリアで友禅染の作品を展示した時に思ったことがあった。「友禅ってシルク・ペインティングと一緒ちゃう？」

（笑。頭の中が関西弁になってんやで。爆笑）
When I was in Australia in September, I exhibited some of my Yuzen artworks and I started thinking, "Isn't Yuzen just another way of saying Silk Painting?"

"Isn't this just Silk Painting?" シルク・ペインティングちゃうの？

よく考えてみたら、両方はペースト状の防染するもので、線を引いてから上に染料を好きなように塗るというやり方です。線のところは同じく染料をふせいで、染め上がった生地には白い線が残っている模様になります。
If you think about it, both are resist techniques where paste lines are drawn on the surface of fabric and dyes are applied over the top as you like it. The lines in both cases resist the dye and you are left with white lines as part of your design (if we are talking the most basic form of the techniques).

silk painting - hydrangea

Yuzen‐dyed hydrangea

So, what's the difference then? Is it ideological or technical?
そうでしたら、どこが違うのでしょうか？技法の詳しいやり方？それとも技法の考え方？

The most obvious difference between the two is the technical one of the resist paste used: "Nori" in Yuzen and "Gutta" in Silk Painting.
技法の面からみると、一つの明らかな違いは防染剤として使っている「糊」と「Gutta」ですね。
*糊*Nori
糊は友禅染や型染めに用いられている「ピーナツバター」色のペーストです。もちことぬかを混ぜて、蒸したもので、粘りがあります。この糊を生地に置くと、乾いた後に染料を塗ったら完全防染の効果があります。糊によりますが、絹を使っている場合では、糊の線の所に薄い茶色が残る時もあります。気にならない程度なので、問題ではないですが。これは「のりやけ」という現象です。
"Nori" (which just means "glue" in Japanese) is used as a resist in both Yuzen and Katazome dyeing. It is a thick paste similar in colour to peanut butter but sometimes paler. It is made by steaming a mixture of glutinous rice flour and fine rice bran which then gets a pummeling to make it nice and smooth and sticky. Once applied to the fabric, it is left to dry and can be dyed over and will completely protect the white fabric. Sometimes when used on silk, the paste will leave a slight beige colour after being washed off but it doesn't stand out enough to be a bother. They call this "nori-burn". You can purchase pre-made nori with some kind chemical added that ensures this burn effect doesn't happen but I prefer to make my own nori and so I just deal with it. I kind of prefer it over a stark white resist anyway.

Rice-based Nori for Yuzen.

*Gutta*
Guttaというのは元々木から採れるゴム製のものです。名前は採れる木の学名に基づいているそうです（Palaquium gutta）。Guttaは透明のペーストがありますが、他にも黒や色や金色が付いているものも販売されています。透明のGuttaは、糊のように染料を定着した後に落とすものですが、色のGuttaはそのまま模様の部分として残すものです。Guttaは完全防染で、ゴム製なので水で取れなくて、シンナーで溶けて落とさないといけないです。最近、水で落とせるGuttaもできたらしいですが、ゴムのような防染力が高くないみたいです。
Gutta is a rubber latex paste that is extracted from certain tropical trees, eg Palaquium Gutta, hence the name. There's clear gutta available as well as those with colour added and even gold and silver. The clear gutta is intended to be removed from the fabric after setting the dyes, whereas the coloured ones are left on the fabric as part of the design. You can't remove gutta in water so it results in a strong and complete resist. There's also water-based gutta that can be washed off but apparently the strength of the resist is not as strong.

Gutta resist - clear and coloured. Images from dharma trading company

* Just to complicate matters, there is also rubber-based nori now used in a large percentage of modern day Yuzen. It's the same kind of stuff as Gutta and must be removed with solvent. The benefit of rubber nori over the rice based nori is that it isn't weakened by the water-content of the dyes applied, it's not susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity and you can fold or roll the fabric it's applied to without cracking or damaging the resist lines.
．．．といいながらも、友禅にも「ゴム糊」がありますね。着物業界での友禅はこの頃殆どゴム糊でやっているらしいです。ゴム糊は湿度の変化とかによって変わらないし、生地を曲がったり動かしたりしても糊の線は割れないので作業が楽です。

sticky, smelly rubber-nori for yuzen

Whilst the dyes and fabric may be similar between Silk painting and Yuzen, I think the major difference is the approach to applying the dye and this is what ultimately makes the two techniques look totally different.
両方に使う染料や生地は似ていると言えますが、染料の塗り方（というか挿し方）は全然違います。私は、友禅染とシルク・ペィンティングの雰囲気は全く違うように見えるのはそのためだと思います。

Silk Painting Dyeing

The use of a strong rubber resist in Silk Painting allows the dyer to be quite liberal with the dyes, applying generous amounts of dye or silk paints with brushes and allowing/encouraging them to bleed, blending them into each other and achieving gradation effects with water or alcohol. In my understanding, the silk-painter is thinking of the gutta lines as borders and working up to them and pushing dyes towards them. I know there are probably many different techniques and personal preferences for how to apply dyes but see this youtube clip for a visual of how someone might apply dyes in silk-painting.
シルク・ペィンティングの方では、ゴム製のGuttaで防染しているから、防染力が高くて、結構自由に塗れます。筆で載せて、水やアルコールで上手く暈したり、塩で色を抜けたり、色が滲むように置いたりします。考え方として、防染の力を持っているGuttaに信頼しながら、その境界へ色を広げるというような感じじゃないでしょうか？やり方は沢山あると思いますが、一つの例として、次の映像を見てね。

(If a yuzen-dyer witnessed this kind of dye application, I can guarantee he would have heart palpitations. This kind of liberal dyeing would go straight under his nori-lines and ruin his kimono before you can say "nori-bousen" (paste resist). 友禅の職人さんがこういう塗り方を見たら絶対ショックを受ける！糊の上にこんな量の染料を置いたら、直ぐに糊の線の下へ入ってしまって、作品はもうダメになりますからね）
The visual result of this style of dyeing is washy, blended colours, something akin to watercolour paintings. And I mean, the name of the technique is Silk PAINTING, so the process and result tend towards a painterly style. The rubber resist is soft and viscose too, so that even if the resist lines are drawn with a fine-tipped applicator, the lines will be rounded and fluid, not crisp.
こういう染め方によって、作品は柔らかな暈しや水彩のような色使いになりますね。またGuttaが柔らかいから、防染の線はきっちりとした線ではなく、丸くて柔らかいものです。

Yuzen Dyeing

In Yuzen, the dyeing step is called "iro-sashi"which doesn't mean brush on dye but insert colour. The action is not like applying generous amounts of dye to soak into the fibres but rather carefully inserting colour where it is desired. Nori resist is removed in water which means that it is also weakened by the water content of dyes. This means that the yuzen dyer (and katazome dyer who uses much the same nori) is trying to avoid wetting the paste areas too much. The paste can of course withstand some contact with liquid but continous re-wetting and too much liquid on top at once quickly dissolves the paste and it no longer serves any purpose as a resist.
友禅の方では、染める段階は「色塗り」ではなく、「色挿し」といいます。シルク・ペインティングのように、繊維を染料で濡らすというより、染料を欲しい所に丁寧に入れていくという感じです。糊は水で落とすものですから、染料の水分にも弱くなります。ある程度水に強いですが、何かいも濡らしたり、沢山の染料を一遍に置いたりしたら、防染力が減ります。

So instead of thinking of the nori lines as hard and fast borders, I think the yuzen dyer sees these as delicate edges and works towards them with dye but tentatively. Dyes are even thickened with some seaweed-based thickener (Manutex) to endure they don't bleed or run. See what I mean in this video:
なので、いっぱい耐えれる強い境界のように思うのではなく、繊弱なもので糊まで丁寧に染料を入れないといけないと思っているのではないか。（だからこそ、この頃防染の強いゴム糊が使われるようになったのでしょう。）友禅の色差しはこの映像で見せます:

伝統X現代？
I guess you could also argue that a difference between the two techniques is the history; that Yuzen is "traditional"and Silk Painting is something "Modern". But Yuzen doesn't have such a long history, really. It was just something Miyazaki Yuzensai thought up in the 1700's as a convenient way to get designs onto fabric. And Silk-painting also has historical roots in Chinese silk-painting, taken to Europe (possibly) and developed from then 1800's and turned into new kind of technique.
友禅が伝統的で、Silk Paintingは現代のものだという議論もできそうけれども、そんなことないと思います。友禅はそんなに長い歴史を持ってないですし。宮崎友禅斎はただ、模様を生地に描ける方法が欲しかって、1700年ごろ発展したのでしょう。SilkPaintingも歴史があります。絹がヨーロッパへ輸入されたあとにイギリスやフランスに現れたそうです。ルーツは不明ですが、インドや中国の伝統に影響されたんじゃないですかという議論があります。

So, yes they are different techniques that share some materials and tools but ultimately allowing different kinds of creative expression. Woop, case closed! Here's some lovely examples of both techniques in celebration.
終わり、確かに二つの技法は違いますね。使う材料や道具が似てますが、作品の雰囲気が異なって、両方には別の表現可能性があります。最後に友禅とSilkPaintingのステキな例を見せます^^

Contemporary Yuzen artwork by Ishii Toru, 2010 石井亨 「地球船都市号」 2010 友禅染、絹、パネル 1650ｘ990mm

Xiaojing Yan "Face to Face - Past and Present", Silk painting, Plexiglas, 10'' x 10'' x 3'' each, 2011, The Gladstone Hotel: "Come Up to My Room."

detail of hanging work by Kaga-Yuzen artisan Teranishi Ikkou 加賀友禅をやっている寺西一紘の作品

Yuzen Kimono by National Treasure Moriguchi Kakou 1961.
森口華弘《駒織縮緬地友禅訪問着 早流》1961年

Hole in the Sky, Fire Painting on Silk Charmeuse, Kirstin Ilse 

Maida Yuzen Studio Visit - Kanazawa 加賀友禅を接する

After telling anyone that wanted to listen that I was dying to visit Kanzawa, (dyeing to?!? hahaha) I finally made it there last week. I was especially interested since learning that Kanazawa is home to a particular style of yuzen dyeing called Kaga Yuzen. (Kaga is the historic name of the region) From what I saw in books, I felt the Kaga style had some parallels to my own work so I really wanted to go and see it in real life.
長ーい間、金沢に行ってみたいと言っていた私はやっと行ってきました！金沢には「加賀友禅」という友禅技法があると知っていた以来は本物をすごく見に行きたかったです。

I managed to visit two different studios making dyed work in the Kaga-yuzen technique. The main one was Maida Yuzen, thanks to my teachers' connections. The current head of the Maida studio is acclaimed dyer Maida Kenji, and I was shown around the atelier by his son and assistant dyer, Maida Hitoshi. (check out their nice website, lots of pictures)



 

「やまあい」訪問着、毎田友禅　Maida Yuzen's Homongi Kimono, Yama-ai Motif (a kind of plant that produces an indigo colour)



毎田染画工芸工房にて

加賀友禅工房を二つにも行けました。一つ目は先生のつながりのおかげで行けた所だけど、もう一つは偶然通った工房でした。先に金沢にある「毎田染画工芸」という加賀友禅の工房を見学させてもらいました。加賀友禅の世界では有名である毎田健治氏の工房で、息子・弟子の毎田仁嗣さんに工房の説明をもらいました。

毎田染画工芸。三人も同じ着物に色差しをしていました。　At Maida Yuzen. Here, 3 dyers were working on filling in the detailed dyed areas on the one kimono. (split into two long lengths of fabric)

In the true Japanese spirit of having regional specialties that are only slightly different to each other (to the untrained eye?), comparisons are often drawn between Kyoto style yuzen and Kaga Yuzen even though both were borne of the innovations made by former Kyoto resident and fan painter, Miyazaki Yuzensai.

「似ていますが、地方によると少し違う」という、日本人が大好きな概念の通り、京都友禅と加賀友禅がいくつかの点では異なっていると言われています。両方は京都の祇園に住んでいた宮崎友禅斎という扇子画家による作られた技法から始まっているんですが。

Example of Kaga style Yuzen at Maida Studio. The flowers are quite realistic and painterly. 毎田工房での「加賀友禅」の例。花や葉っぱが割と絵画的ですね。

Example of Kyoto style Yuzen (Kyo-yuzen) by well-known Kyoto company Chiso. You can see its very patterned and decorative.　京友禅の「千總」の振袖。模様的で鮮やかな感じですね。

Kaga Yuzen is said to be elegant and chic as opposed to the sometimes gaudy, over embellished Kyoto yuzen. Kaga style yuzen predominantly uses patterns based on realistic and painterly depictions of flowers, plants and birds etc. The painterly effects are achieved with delicate shading which traditionally goes from light at the centre of flowers to dark at the petal tips, whereas in Kyoto (how's this for too much information?) the motifs are paler towards the edges. They also like to say there are '6 colours of Kaga' : Indigo blue, deep rouge red, chrome yellow, grass green and royal purple. Anyway, it's all part of the marketing surrounding Kaga Yuzen.
加賀友禅というのは、落ち着いていて粋なスタイルで、主に写実的な花草をモチーフにしているものです。それと、丁寧なぼかしで絵画的な表現であり、いわゆる「加賀五彩」(臙脂・藍・黄土・草・古代紫の五色)で構成されていると言われています。

Another example of Kaga Yuzen, here a black formal tomesode with patterning only around the hem by Maida Kenji. 加賀友禅の黒留袖。毎田健治の作品です。

I'm not really into drawing such clear divisive lines between techniques because they are all complementary but I was impressed by the Kaga-yuzen use of colours which you don't see in Kyoto yuzen. Maybe it's because of the above "Kaga colours" but Maida studio was using quite deep blues and purples and greens alongside more familiar pale gradients. They were also mixing gofun (white chalk powder) into their dyes as well as using it on its own to achieve matte pastel colours that really sing and flat bright white sections. 

染色の中で技法は重なったりするから、技法はを堅く分けるのがあんまり好きじゃないけれども、確かに京友禅に見えない色合いは素敵でした。「加賀五彩」という概念の影響かどうかはわからないですが、毎田友禅では、馴染みがある暈した薄い色と一緒にかなり濃い青・緑・紫などを使っていました。それと、染料に胡粉を入れる又は樹脂と混ぜるだけで使って、パステルカラー、鮮やかな色やマットの白ができます。

 

detail of Furisode (long sleeved) kimono by Maida Kenji. very vivid colours! you can also see the use of white on some of the petals. 毎田健治の振袖の部分。鮮やかな色！胡粉で白くした花びらも見えますね。

Hem section of a furisode by Maida Kenji　毎田健治の振袖

Another thing that stood out (and I'm not sure if this is unique to Maida Yuzen or if it is a Kaga-yuzen trademark) was the clever use of texture to give the design depth and interest. The way I understood it from Hitoshi's explanation was that they dye one colour, then apply small dots/texture with thinned down resist paste, then when that is dry they dye over it again with a deeper colour or a slightly different tone. The result is a duotone speckled effect that can be as subtle or bold as you choose. 薄めた糊を染めたところにおいて、そのうえにまた濃いかちょっと違う色を塗ると、面白いテキスチャを作るというやり方も面白かった。これは加賀友禅の特徴か毎田さんのところに独特かどうかはわかりませんが。

you can see some of the speckled effect on the paler blue petals. This is taken while the paste is still on the fabric, once washed the speckled effect is more dramatic. 糊はまだ付いているけど、洗うとテキスチャがもっと目立ちます。

Unlike Kyoto-style yuzen that uses quite decorative patterns and pretty typical traditional motifs, the kimono (but also panels and some small things) I saw were mostly depicting flowers and birds: dyed artistically but also with botanical accuracy. The depictions of birds were of course of particular interest to me. There weren't any bird motifs being worked on when I was at Maida's studio but there are some great depictions of birds in other Kaga yuzen pieces. 京友禅の伝統的なモチーフや装飾的な感じに対して、加賀友禅では、花・草・鳥などは生き写しとは言えないが、かなり自然に近いように描かれています。私は（もちろん！）特に加賀友禅での鳥の描写に興味があります。見学のとき、鳥のモチーフは染めていなかったが、他の加賀友禅には素敵な例が見えます。





detail of a hanging piece by Teranishi Ikkou 寺西一紘の作品

Lively depiction of cranes on a hanayome noren: Bridal Curtain. 花嫁のれんの生き生きしてい鶴たちhttp://kd-rinya.com/noren/

It was a nice little trip to Kanazawa to see Kaga-yuzen up close. It makes you realise that despite the efforts to define Kaga yuzen as very different from Kyoto yuzen they are fundamentally very similar. I think using a combination of both styles, stradling the border line would really give you scope to create some amazing work. Also, seeing the way that Kaga yuzen artists value drawing from life, realistic depiction and delicate shading gives me confidence that my own approach to yuzen is legitimate and also inspires me to rely even more on drawing from observation.  That's really the only way to create something that feels lively and authentic. And on that note, I'm off to sketch for my next work!!
金沢に行って加賀友禅を目の前に見えてよかったです。京友禅と加賀友禅を別のものにする努力があるのに、実は基本的に同じ技法だということを気づきました。両方の特徴を生かして、間ぐらいで制作したら素敵なものが作れるのだと思いました。
それで、加賀友禅の作家がスケッチ、現実的な描写、丁寧なぼかしを重視することに、自分の作品にも自信を吹き込んでくれました。これから、もっと写生したいと思いました。生き生きとした作品にしたいなら、写生に頼るしかないのではないでしょうか？それでは、次の作品のスケッチをしにいきます！！

Looking and Learning - Studio Visits 工房見学によってエネルギーを。

「クリエーションに必要なことは、できるだけ多くのものを見たり、体験したり、勉強したり、また遊んだり、そんないろんなことで自分自身の感性を豊かにしていくことだと思います。経験は時間やお金に変えがたいものです。一日一日すべての事の積み重ねが自分達を成長させるエネルギーです。」今井 淳裕、千總　図案家

(my own translation) "To be able to create something you need to look at, experience, study and play with a wide variety of things. I believe all of these things enrich your own sensitivities. Money and time are no match for EXPERIENCE. The accumulation of your experiences each and every day become the energy that allows you to grow and move forward." Imai Atsuhiro, Designer for Chiso, Kyoto-Yuzen Kimono Company

この言葉が机の上に張ってあります。去年、今井さんが京都精華大学で毎年開催されている「京都の伝統美術工芸」講座に発表した時にこの言葉に感動しました。確かに制作したい気持ちを持つだけのが足りないですね。日本で大学院に入ったばかりで、これからの二年間を今井さんがおっしゃったのように時間を豊かに使いたいです！ということで、この二週間に三つの工房を見学しに行って来てしまいました！

I have these words pinned up above my desk. I was able to sit in on a talk given by Imai-san at Kyoto Seika University last year as part of the regularly run course "Kyoto's Traditional Arts & Crafts". As a creator of sorts just starting out, these words really resonated with me. It's true that you can't force creation in a vacuum and something will always be lacking if you produce work with blinders on. Having just entered the 2 year master's course at Kyoto Seika, I am especially keen to make the most of my time and widen my experiences as Imai-san suggested. And so, partly by chance, it happens that I visited 3 different dyeing studios in Kyoto in the past 2 weeks.

The central garden space in Takahashitoku 高橋徳YDSの庭。素敵！

 行って見た一つ目は「高橋徳」という友禅工房。味がある伝統的なビルにあって、一階が座敷のギャラリーと友禅小物の展示室になっています。中心に素敵な庭もあります！それで、二階には素敵なものが作られています！作業中の様子が見えて、染めている着物を見たら、「細かい！」と思うしか出来なかった。防染糊としてゴム糊が使われていて、指で触ってみたら生地に何も置いていないと思うほど細かい糊の線でした。染める人々が１人ずつのスペースがあって、筆や染料が色の試し布が全部並べていた。そういうきちんと整っている作業場所を見ると何よりも羨ましかった！

The first was "Takahashitoku" a Kyoto Yuzen Dyeing Workshop that has been around for 100 years or so in the heart of textiles territory in Kyoto's west. They create quite traditional looking yuzen dyed items and work as a contractor for other kimono companies in Kyoto. It's in this beautiful old building with a gallery and shop downstairs and the magic happening upstairs. We were able to see some kimono being dyed and...just, wow! The resist lines of the yuzen were so fine that you would barely see them were they not using a blue rubber based resist paste. The dedicated workspace for each dyer, with rows of brushes and small dishes with the various colours of dye all ready to go really appealed to the perfectionist in me! I'm standing there thinking, "What am I doing in Master's?! I want to come here and just concentrate on dyeing this ridiculously detailed kimono for 6 hours straight a day!" Call me crazy, perhaps. I was also happy and relieved to see that what I thought were my shonky methods (using laundry pegs and old plastic containers etc) are totally legitimate! Well, I'm not the only one, at least. 

Laundry clips and plastic containers and creative mess is legit! Phew!! 

訪ねてみた二件目は「栗山工房」でした。京都の右京区にあって、自然に囲まれている綺麗な場所です。オーストラリアから旅行に来たイラストレーターに一緒に行きました。工房のツアーで色んな段階を見せてくれました。大きな部屋には染作業に集中している６人ぐらいが居ました。１人ずつが着物一反を染めていくらしいです。それで、糊置きの部屋も見えました。糊板がびっしり頭の上に並べていました。その時間糊置きはしていなかったですが、紙の上に親切に糊置きのやりかたを見せました。何十年もやっている手しかできない速さで丁寧に型紙を繰り返して模様を完璧にあわせました。さすが！

The second atelier I visited was "Kuriyama Kobo" a katazome studio out on the beautiful western edge of Kyoto. I went with a fellow textiles fanatic, Tallulah who was visiting from Australia. We were given a tour of the various parts of the studio. First, the dyeing area where a group of dyers were each quietly working away on one entire length of kimono fabric, kept taut on a special roller system. Clever! Also the pasting room with a very low ceiling where one man was busy smoothing a length of kimono silk (approx 12 metres) onto a sticky wooden table, making sure it remains straight and wrinkle free. This then gets left in the hands of the very skilled paster. There wasn't anything being printed while we were there but the pasting man kindly gave us a quick demo on some paper, flicking the spatula around with such confidence. The studio had a great family vibe about it, the older staff supporting fresh graduates who have recently entered the company and everyone working closely together.

The dyers at Kuriyama Kobo. I want one of these roller systems! 栗山工房の染所

Mmm, blue resist paste. They put this strong blue coloured pigment in their paste to make it easy to see. Looks nasty though.　栗山工房では糊に青いを入れています。使いやすいかもしれないが、見た目はなんか気持ち悪い。

He's never done this before. Not.　全然糊置きしたことないようね。嘘です。

perfectly matched detailed printing.　完璧にあわせた細かい模様。

apparently there are some avid bird watchers at the studio!工房の誰かが鳥が好きそうです＾＾

one of the dyers was dyeing a goldfish pattern. I think this was on linen.　金魚の模様が色差し中。

それでは、最後の工房はロウケツ染めの「青野工房」でした。（今気付いたばっかりだけど、３軒とも違う防染技法を使っている工房だった！）京都の西本願寺の近くにあります。１９８０年に工房を設立した青野保夫さんがその日居て、とても楽しい出会いでした。工房の壁にビートルズの時計やジョン・レノンの写真とかがあったり、ギターも隅に置いたというような雰囲気がある工房で作られている着物や帯は確かにカッコイイ物ばっかりです！今までに見た着物とは全然違う気がします。青野さんの性格がその鮮やかで独特なデザインに出ていると思います。

And finally, (I've just realised that I managed to visit 3 different studios using 3 different resist dyeing techniques! Go me!!) "Aono Kobo" a rouketsu-zome (wax resist dyeing) studio tucked away in the suburbs not too far from Kyoto Station, near Nishi Honganji Temple. This place was such a treat. Aono Yasuo the master of the place is such a character and we were lucky that he was there that day. The walls are decorated with Beatles paraphenalia and the bathroom has become guitar storage, The Kimono that Aono kobo produce are so different from what I have seen before and I think it's really the playful, independant attitude of Aono-san coming through in the designs. Think kimono with words like "PEACE" and "LOVE" spelled out in large abstracted lettering or flame designs or bright blocks of colour with aztec-like border designs. 

Aono-san doing his thing. Applying dye after the wax resist had been hand-painted on. ロウが筆で置いたあと、手早く染めている青野さん。

Aono-san working on this kimono influenced by city nightscapes. 

It was great to hear Aono-san talking (and laughing) about what Kimono mean to him and how others in the Kimono world may view his style as almost taboo but that making something the same way as someone else serves no purpose. He is dedicated to the traditionally held virtue of kimono, that is, beautiful to look at on display as well as bringing out the beauty of the wearer. But at he really builds on this is very playful and unconventional with the placement of design elements, use of colours and fabrics. It was a breath of fresh air to meet someone (especially someone who is Japanese) with an open-minded approach to Kimono. It gives me the hope that Kimono may be able to be kept alive and relevant to young generations.

工房の見学っていうのは他人の創造的な脳にお邪魔するのようなことだと思います。作業のやりかた、何から影響を受けているのか、生活の中に作業がどういう風にに入れているなどが見えます。そういう大切なところが見えてすごくありがたいです。この３つの工房を見に行ってから新しいアイディアやインサイトが出来て、今井さんが京都精華での発表に言った「エネルギー」も与えられたと気がします。

Visiting a studio is like going inside somebody else's creative brain. You see how they work, what they are influenced by, how they integrate their life and their creation. I'm really grateful to have been allowed to see inside these quite private places. These visits have given me new insights and ideas and the energy to move forward that Imai-san spoke about in his lecture.

to give colour ~色を付ける~

I promised progress photos of my kimono dyeing and after several weeks of 12-hour long (or more!) days spent dy(e)ing, so here they come!
着物の色差しの写真をアップすると約束したのでここに載せます！数週間の間、一日に12時間以上作業する日が多かったけど、辛くても模様が生きてくるのが愉しみだった。

This step is called iro-sashi (色差し) which means putting on colour. In the case of yuzen technique, this means working withing the fine resist lines with various brushed and filling in the shapes with dyes. It's not unlike the silk painting that we are familiar with in Australia. In the case of yuzen, the dyes are mixed with a little thickener (sodium alginate: smells like a scummy rockpool but it does the trick), to prevent them from bleeding under the resist.
今回の写真は「色差し」の段階に撮りました。友禅の場合、色差しというのが、糊で置いた細い線の中に染料を筆や刷毛で差すのことです。にじまないように、メイプロガムという糊で染料にとろみを付けます。（腐った潮だまりの匂いがするけど、効果的です）

There are many dyeing techniques for yuzen, to achieve gradations, depth of colour and various effects.This video is classic 1990's Japan but it really gives a great idea of how a professional yuzen dyer goes about his work. You can see he uses both flat and round brushes, sometimes works wet on wet and is only working on a small section of the kimono fabric which is stretched taut on shinshi bamboo stretchers. My dyeing skills are nowhere near as skilled as his but anyway, here's some pictures of what I managed!
友禅には色んな染め方があります。このビデオがちょっと古い感じですが、色差しの説明としてとてもいいと思います。見えるように、この職人さんが色彩筆も刷毛も使っているし、塗れている染料にまた濃い色を加えているし、着物生地の部分だけを染めるために伸子で張ってありますね。それでは、職人さんのレベルに比べられないけど、自分で染めたのはこんなものです！

mixing dyes 色を準備して置く

dyeing flowers 花びらを色差し

職人さんがよく刷り込み刷毛も使いますが、私は筆の方が染めやすいと思います。Yuzen professionals often use flat tipped brushes but I prefer these round brushes.

ユーカリの実と葉っぱ。dyeing eucalyptus leaves and buds

testing colours on the actual silk fabric of the kimono. 着物に使う生地に色の試し

and then! hanging the almost complete lengths up together. So satisfying to join up all the pieces!!!  This is the centre back and part of the back right sleeve. それで、大体染めた四枚を棒で吊って、柄合わせして見る。これは背中と右袖の裏です。

a detail from one of the sleeves 袖の部分

まだ出来てないが、適当に吊って、どういう感じかを見るだけ。裾にある白い部分が水側。それはまだ染めていない部分です。Its not really a kimono yet, just four lengths of fabric. I hung them up and pinned the pieces in place to get an idea of the final result. Yipee!! the white section on the hem is a water motif, yet to be dyed in this image.

 The next step (there always seems to be another one!!) is to take the fabric to a company in Kyoto to have a final steaming and the rubber resist paste removed. They will also do what's called ゆのし yunoshi  where the fabric is held taut over steam to make it nice and straight again. Then I will have a unique hand dyed bolt of fabric that gets handed on to a seamstress (who knows what they are doing), to sew it all into a kimono for display! What an epic process this has been! (still is!!)
次の段階は（いつももう一つの段階があると感じる!)染色整理会社に渡して、最後の蒸しをして、ゴム糊を取って、湯のしまでやって貰います。その後は綺麗な（かな！？）友禅染の一反を誰か上手な人に展示用の着物に縫ってもらいます。たしかに長編冒険談のように、このプロセスが終わらない！！

The plan is to have the kimono all ready to go for my solo exhibition coming up at the start of April in Kyoto.  Lots to get done before then!! I'll be putting up details of the exhibition here before long.
一応四月上旬の個展で出来上がった着物を展示する予定です。古典まで色々頑張らないといけないです！また個展の詳しい情報をここに載せます！

steps to the finish line 着物の段階

Since I last posted pictures in my post Making a Kimono..., I have gone through several important stages of the process: nori-oki (applying resist paste), ji-ire (applying pre-dye sizing), fuse-nori (covering paste) and ji-zome (background dyeing). Here I'll try and briefly explain these steps.

着物を制作なんて!を書いて以来、いくつの重要な段階もやりました。それは、糊置き、地入れ、伏せ糊と地染めです。ここで写真で説明しようと思っています。

*Nori-oki 乗り置き
literally means the putting on of paste. In all my previous work, I have used the traditional form of nori that is a combination of mochiko rice flour and komon-nuka rice bran. Traditional nori is soluable in water and dries to a stiff resist. In humid summer months, the dried nori remains leathery but in winter it's water content to dry up and it ends up cracked like an egg shell (not good!). Being winter this time, and for it's water resistance (essential to the background dyeing part of the process) I used gomu-nori, a rubber paste that has a blue colour added to it for visibility. It is much more sticky and viscous than standard nori and smells like paint (unfortunate) but on the plus side, it is nice and flexible when it's dry and it doesn't wash out in water which means it can be used in clever combination underneath standard nori to achieve layers of dye.

青花で描いた線に沿ってゴム糊を置いていきます。この場合、渋紙で作られた筒ではばく、セロファンで作った筒を使います。
applying rubber paste along the lines traced with aobana (water soluble ink) onto the fabric previously.  in the case of  rubber nori, you can use a cellophane cone (much like cake decorating), and throw it out once empty and start on a new one. Wasteful but better than getting this sticky rubber all over your fingers and nice metal tipped paper cone.

糊を置くと、ただ青花に沿っていくということじゃなくて、よりいい作品を作るために改めて見て、あちこちにちょっと変更することがいいと言われています。
They say that when applying the resist paste, you ought to be improving upon your design as  you go. That is, rather than following the traced lines passively, see the design afresh and make any changes you see fit.

前の作品は昔からあった小紋糠と餅粉で作られた糊を使いましたが、冬にはこの糊が割りやすいし、地染めのことを考えたら、今回はゴム糊のほうが適切でした。買ったゴム糊は「群青入ゴム糊」で、見えやすいように青色が入れています。ゴム糊がペンキの匂いがするけど、柔らかくて置きやすいし、乾いたらまだ柔軟です。水で解けないので、普通の糊とともに置けば賢い染め方もできます。

*Ji-ire 地入れ

Ji-ire is the term for pre-sizing the fabric before dyeing. Japanese textiles traditionally use milk extracted from soybeans and a thickener in the form of funori-seaweed. This application of sizing helps the dye 'grip' the fabric evenly and prevents dyed edges from bleeding. The ji-ire liquid is applied to the back side of the entire length of fabric quickly and in one go, keeping the brush moving and working down the fabric to ensure an even application. I made a 2 minute video of this process when I was about 70% of the way down one of my lengths of fabric. My wrist was starting to get sore by this point!  You can see it is tricky to work around the bamboo shinshi that are keeping the fabric stretched taut.

豆汁とふのりを混ぜた「地入れ」を染める前に生地の裏にひきます。地入れをひくと、染料が滲まないです（だいたい）。・地入れをひく時2分間のビデオを取りました。生地を引っ張っている紳士が見えます。

*Fuse-nori 伏せ糊
Having applied my design areas using the rubber resist, I now want to be able to dye the background colour. To do this, I need to mask all those precious birds and plants so they remain white, to be dyed later. This is where the rubber resist proves it's worth. I go back and apply a masking layer of normal resist paste over my design areas, this time using the normal paper cone with a metal tip. To help this resist dye, you sprinkle a layer of fine sawdust on top of the wet paste. When it's dry, it feels a little like sandpaper.

渋紙の筒で普通の糊をゴム糊の上に置きます。地染めの色に染めたくない部分を守るというわけです。  protecting the parts of the design I don't want to dye yet by applying normal resist paste on top of the rubber resist. 

先がねを外したら、広いところを早く伏せられます。taking the metal tip off to cover larger areas more quickly.

乾いていない糊にひき粉を撒きます。sprinkling fine sawdust over the wet paste will give it strength.

生地を全体的に紫に染めたいけど、ゴム糊で描いた部分を染めたくないですね。ゴム糊で描いてある鳥や植物を白いのままに守るために、ゴム糊の上に普通の糊を置きます。これは伏せ糊といいます。紫を染めたら、普通の糊を洗って取ったら、ゴム糊や白い模様の部分が残っています。賢いでしょう！糊の防染力を上げるために伏せ糊が乾かない内に、ひき粉をまきます。乾いたらちょっとヤスリに似ています。

*Ji-zome 地染め

Finally the nerve racking step of dyeing the base fabric colour. This makes you sweat for two reasons. 1. You'll be physically sweating by the end because you need to dye all 17 metres in one go so that your colour application is even and the fabric all dries in the same temperature conditions etc. 2. You will sweat it out mentally because you're hoping that your fuse-nori is doing it's job resisting the dye and that you aren't leaving any (too many) irregular areas in your dyeing. 

The dye is applied in the same way as the sizing, but with a more (expensive!) absorbent brush made from deer hair. You need to be applying just enough dye so that you're not dry-brushing the fabric but certainly not flooding it either. 

 紫！今回も酸性染料で染めました。紫専用の刷毛ですね。mmm, purple! using the 'purple-only' brush, made from deer hair. This is acid dyestuff. 

染めた時は焦っていたので糊が置いた状態の写真が取りませんでした！この写真では普通の糊が洗い取った状態で、ゴム糊の線と白い模様の部分が残っています。よっしゃ！I was busy in the moment of dyeing, so I don't have a picture of the dyed lengths with the paste still attached. Here, you see the fabric after the normal paste has been washed off and the rubber resist lines remain, along with my white design areas. yay!

紫の地染めした後の生地です！これで次の段階（色さし）の準備ができました。（実はこれを撮ったときはもう少しだけ色さしを始まりましたけどね）detail of the fabric with the background dyed,  ready for the next stage: dyeing the patterned areas! (actually  I had already started here, just a little bit on the grass seed pods )

地染めの段階に着くと色んな理由で汗が出ます！一つは、17メートルの生地を一気に染めないといけないので、肉体的に汗をかきますよ！もう一つは、精神的に緊張になって、汗をかきます！糊が本当に防染しているかどうかの心配もあるし、むらがないように綺麗に染めないといけないから緊張してきます。地入れと同じようにひきますが、今回はもっと高い鹿の毛で作られた刷毛で染めます。

And so now I'm off to add colour to my pattern and bring it all to life!!

さあ、このあとは模様に活気を与えるように、色さしををやります！