Bashofu and the centenarians of Okinawa 芭蕉布と長寿の村

When you speak of Okinawan Textiles, the most famous technique is probably bingata stencil dyeing (which I recently posted about) and I would guess that a close second goes to basho-fu, a kind of hand-woven fabric from the Japanese banana fibre plant.
沖縄の染織と言えば、一番知られているのは今間も書き込んだ「紅型」のだろう。その次はもしかしたら糸芭蕉からできてい手織りの「芭蕉布」のではないか？

beautiful bashofu with it's distinctive beige colour and intricate dyed thread patterns

"From the what!?", I hear you say? Yes, a mostly female group of workers farm basho fibrous banana trees, hand process the fibre into thread and dye and weave it into a wonderfully light but strong beige fabric called basho-fu. The small village of Kijoka in Ogimi, Okinawa, is most well known for basho-fu production thanks to efforts to maintain and revive basho-fu production by Taira Toshiko, a nonagenarian designated as a so called "living cultural treasure"in the year 2000.
糸芭蕉って？！と思っている人もいらっしゃらないか？そう！バナナのような木を栽培して、手で糸に加工してから染めて、麻のような手触りがある布に織るは「芭蕉布」というものだね。沖縄の大宜味村にある喜如嘉が芭蕉布を作っている町として有名のだ。それは、2000年に人間国宝に認定された平良敏子さん（現在93歳）が芭蕉布の技を守る努力に大きく影響されたのだ。

ito-basho or fibrous banana plants being cultivated in Ogimi. They are grown until the trunks are about 1-1.5 metres tall. 大宜味の芭蕉布会館前の糸芭蕉。

As you drive into the Ogimi area, the signage boasts not only of Ogimi's basho-fu production but also that it is a region famous for shikwasa citrus, for bunagaya fairytale creatures (see here) AND of long life. Indeed, the numbers of centenarians living in Ogimi means it's population is touted as having the greatest longevity in Japan! These older members of the community attribute their good health to exercising and farmwork, to their positive attitude towards life and to staying involved in the community. One such community that elderly women remain active in is the group work environment required for basho-fu production.
大宜味村の地域に入ると、大きな看板に大宜味村の名物が書いてある。それは、芭蕉布だけではなく、シークヮーサーも、ぶながやも、長寿も書いているのね。沖縄での平均寿命が海外の研究者の間でもよく勉強されている。大宜味村は特に平均年齢が高いらしいです。大宜味の老人たちは畑で仕事したり、クラブなどに参加したり、自分の食べ物を作ったりしている元気な人々です！おばあさんたちがコミュニティーに活躍している場の一つは、皆で協力しながら作る芭蕉布の畑や工房ですね。

I think it should also be noted that the eldery population in Ogimi has a healthy sense of humour too. These daikon radish people were on display at the local produce centre. 大宜味村の人もユーモアの感覚も元気に生きている。大宜味産の物を売っている道の駅にこの赤土大根人間も見かけた。

Check out this nice video about Okinawan longevity made by some foreign students in Japan. I especially like the old lady singing at the very end. Too cute!　この留学生に作られたビデオは大宜味の「おばぁ」と「おじぃ」の生活を紹介している。最後に歌っているおばぁがすごくかわいい！

Link to youtube: The Longest Lived Village in Japan

Last month I visited the so called "Ogimi Village Basho-fu Hall" which is a working facility where basho-fu is made by hand. They have a display of basho-fu examples and equipment on the first floor with an informative video running and you can go upstairs to see the women working away on looms, on low tables, sorting threads, stretching cloth and whatever processes they happen to be working on that day. 　
先月大宜味にある「芭蕉布会館」へ行きました。一階には、芭蕉布の歴史や工程を説明する展示とビデオがあって、二階へ上がると実際に作っている作業が見学できます。その日はいくつかの工程が見えました。

plaque outside the Bashofu Hall, tells of how bashofu knowledge was something passed from mother to daughter.

The process of turning banana plants into fabric fit for wearing is long and involved and you'd be forgiven for wondering how anyone has such patience to pour that amount of effort into one roll of fabric. But see the final product in real life and you can appreciate that the group effort involved in its making results in something hand-crafted and wonderful that is unique in the world.
糸芭蕉を布にするのが信じられない手間がかかる工程です。どうして一反の生地をそんな時間を入れるだろうと思ってしまいそうですが、実物をみると、共同の努力で作られた、いわゆる大人数の手で作られた物であるこそ独特で美しい生地とすぐに分かります。

According to a brochure I bought at the Basho-fu hall, the process goes something like this:
-Farming the fibrous basho plants and then harevsting at approximately three years when the trunks are over 1 metre long.
-U-hagi Stripping the concentric layers of pale fibrous material from the felled trunks and classing into 4 ranks based on softness.
-U-daki Boiling fibres in lye to soften them
-U-biki Dividing the strips into finer fibres by running a bamboo scraper down the length of the fibre. These fibres are sorted according to softness and colour.
-Once dried, fibres are wound into fist-sized balls called chingu to assist in the next step.
工程を下手な日本語で説明するより、もう丁寧に書いてあるサイトを見た方がいいと思います！この二つは分かりやすいと思います：こもれび工房　＆ 芭蕉布事業協同組合

On the left a small bunch of these softened fibre strips. These will split into even finer strands to form the thread. On right a swatch of the fibre as it first comes off the stalk. 手に持っているのは、「うびき」の工程が終わったもの。これから、また細かく分けて、糸にする。右は木から剥がしたままの素材。

-Which is, U-umi or forming the thread. The chingu balls are soaked in water, and split into even finer threads with a knife then the individual lengths (remember the tree trunk is only around a metre long, so the fibres are too) of fibre are knotted together end to end with TINY knots to form skeins of basho yarn.

Did I mention the knots are TINY?! see that little knot on my fingertip? This is the most time consuming and skilled step of the production. Tension will be placed on the threads when on the loom so the knots must be strong but not form large bumps in the fabric surface. 小っちゃいと言ったよね！？指先に見える結びは一番手間がかかる工程らしい。織るときは糸が張力も必要から、結んだ所が強かないといけないし、できている布に目立たないように小さく結ばないといけない…

-The yarn is lightly spun to prevent fraying when it gets woven
-After measuring off the lengths of warp and weft required for the fabric to be woven, this is softened in lye again.
-The distinctive patterns in the fabric are dyed at this point by tying resists on the threads and dyeing in hawthorn (for a terracotta colour) or Ryukyu Indigo.

LIving National Treasure Toshiko Taira dyeing threads that have been selectively tied with tight resists also made of basho.
人間国宝の平良敏子が糸を染めている。白い部分は染料が入らないところですね。イメージは 芭蕉布事業協同組合　からです。

Threads before the resists have been removed. the tightly wrapped white sections will be unwrapped to reveal the pale natural colour of the basho fibre.
平良敏子。イメージは 芭蕉布事業協同組合　からです。

-The threads can now be setup on a loom, ensuring dyed patterns stay in alignment and threads kept supple with moisture.
-The fabric can finally be woven. Because of the fragility of the threads, rainy season is best and it can take one weaver roughly 3-5 weeks to weave one bolt of fabric for kimono (!!!)
-The woven fabric is again boiled and soaked, pressed under a weight, stretched by hand to it's correct width, and correct length by a tug of war type effort by two workers.
-The surface of the fabric is polished with the rim of a ceramic cup and the process of stretching is repeated.
-After final ironing and checking for faullts, the bashofu cloth is finally finished.

We saw this step in progress when we visited the Bashofu Hall. Workers at each end of the fabric give the fabric a few strong pulls to bring it back to it's correct length..

PHEW! what a process.

I admire the strength of purpose of 94 year old Taira Toshiko who I mentioned above. She has really dedicated her life to making sure that basho-fu is kept alive and carried on for future generations. You can see her big personality in this Japanese news feature:
もう94歳である意志の強い平良敏さんがすごいと思います。将来の世代でも芭蕉布が楽しめるように活躍しているのは素晴らしいですね。

Link to Toshiko Taira Interview (in Japanese) Toshiko Taira

To finish let me share this quote from Toshiko Taira that was on display at the Bashofu Hall.

...bashofu-making is a priceless tradition and skill that our mothers and grandmothers and ancestors have safeguarded and passed down here in our homeland through many centuries. If we break this chain, bashofu will cease to exist. The thought of what a betrayal that would be has kept my colleagues and I going, despite many challenges.
 While in recent years our work has begun to be recognized around the world, the future is still far from assured. Our members at Kijoka are aging.  In particular we have fewer people able to perform the u-umi task of joining basho fibres to make thread, so that even securing a high-quality supply of this most essential material is becoming difficult.
...My goal is to have as many people as possible come to know this local heritage and see its value and understand, too, what we here at Kijoka are trying to accomplish. If more would step forward to join in the effort bashofu will live on for generations to come. That is our dearest wish.  Toshiko Taira, March 2013 

Bingata vs Katazome 「紅型」対「型染」

Studying katazome, you inevitably end up hearing about and seeing the very similar technique of bingata which　developed in Okinawa.Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to finally get to visit Okinawa and managed to check out a couple of bingata working ateliers whilst I was there. It was an interesting exercise in realising various differences between bingata and katazome. Let's explore some of those here.
型染を勉強すると、沖縄の「紅型」を必ずどこかで知るようになります。2週間前、やっと沖縄へ行けて、居るあいだに紅型の所にも足を運びました。紅型と型染の違いが多いと思って、面白い経験でした。ここでその違いや特徴をいくつか見てみましょう。

example of an 18-19thC Ryuku Bingata national heritage piece.

Katazome vs Bingata
The basics process of the two techniques are essentially the same: A stencil is carved out of heavy paper, this is used to apply a gooey resist paste onto the fabric, the paste dries and the exposed fabric is dyed, then the resist paste is removed to reveal white un-dyed areas.
「型染」対「紅型」
両方の基礎はそんなに異なっていません。つまり、分厚い紙からステンシルを彫って、柔らかな糊を置いて、乾いた糊の間を染めて、蒸してから洗うと染めていない所が見えってくるという工程のです。

hint as to why I like bingata.. birds! bingata designs often feature brightly coloured birds in flight

Some features of bingata, however, are markedly different from katazome.
しかし、紅型、あるいは「琉球紅型」には特徴も幾つかあります。

For one thing, traditional bingata is extravagantly colourful! (Bingata actually translates as "coloured patterns") Think reds, deep yellows, greens, purples and blues. I'd like to think this is due in part to Okinawa's tropical island climate and the subsequent vivid high-saturation flowers and light they have there. (it's currently a Japanese prefecture but it's quite far south from main island Japan.) But it's probably more to do with the Chinese influence on the visual language of the old Ryukyu Kingdom and the fact that pigments were often imported from China. Plant dyes made from local plants like fukugi and Okinawan indigo were used as well as pigments like yellow ochre, vermillion and indigo were used. Apparently yellow was reserved for (then named) Ryukyu Kingdom royalty.
一つ目として、すごく鮮やかのです！！(紅型の意味は鮮やかな模様ですし…)
沖縄の熱帯の気候に咲く花や強い陽射しのおかげだと考えたいけど、昔から使われていた植物染料や顔料は中国に影響を受けましたのでしょう。

various colourful bingata patterns. they are often very very detailed too!

I went all the way to Osaka in 2012 to catch an amazing exhibition of bingata.  I remember being just floored by the colours! Pinks, sky blues, purples, yellows...If the pieces on display had faded at all in their 100+ years then old Ryukyu was certainly a colourful place! 
2012年、大きいな紅型の展覧会をわざわざ大阪まで見に行きました。その時、色彩に感動しました！ピンク、水色、紫、黄色など。100年以上まえに作られたものも沢山あって、その色は昔もっと鮮やかだったはずだと思ったらすごいですね！

Another feature of bingata is the decorative patterns which often have large unconnected open areas which you don't see in old katazome. 
Let me explain with a picture of the stencils used for in both techniques. 
もう一つの特徴は、花や鳥のデザインに細かい線や型染には見ない空白が入っているのことです。説明しにくいから両方の代表的な型紙の例を見ましよう。

Fine traditional katazome stencils, carving blades and punches.

The very traditonal katazome stencils seen here (known as Ise Katagami) have been carved to cut and remove small shapes.The design on the left includes lines that touch an cross to keep the whole thing in one piece. In the centre, you see an expert carver working with a VERY fine blade to cut several layers of stencil paper at once. On the right, ridiculously tiny sharp punches, both circular and shaped were often used to create uber fine details, originally employed to give the illusion of a woven fabric. Once carved, the stencil paper is left as is and soaked before use.
伝統的な型紙、いわゆる「伊勢型紙」は上に見えるように、細かい部分を刀又は丸きりで切り抜きます。和紙でできている型紙を何枚か重ねてから彫ることが多かったそうです。彫ったあと、水でぬらして、糊を置きます。

more open Katazome stencils also existed and these often had a fine silk mesh applied to ease paste application, as you can just see in the right image.

Sometimes more open designs (though never seem to be quite as open as bingata stencils) were lacquered over and had a fine silk mesh applied so that the artisan's spatula didn't catch on the stencil during paste application.
切り抜いた所が大きい場合、ヘラが型紙に引っかからないように紗を漆で貼ります。（右上で紗が見えます）

Now let's look at some bingata stencils. さて、紅型の方は？

bingata stencils with large open areas, 'floating' elements and fine sweeping lines.

You can see these bingata stencils incorporate thin curving lines and a birds etc that are suspended in space, that is, not connected to other parts of this design physically. You can imagine how, when you cut this stencil, you would end up with a handful of sad, separated pieces, right? So to keep it all in one piece, temporary connecting lines are left between areas of the design, then after a fine layer of silk mesh has been applied with lacquer, they are are removed and the stencil is usable. This use of open space is much more marked than in katazome.
紅型の型紙では、細かい曲がっている線や繋がっていない鳥などがみえます。下にある型紙を普通に切ると、バラバラの物になるから、切るときにつながる「橋」を残して、絹の紗を張ってから橋を除くと使えるようになります。

can you see the gradations on the petals and feather details?

You might notice the gradations of colour in this bingata example. This characteristic effect is acheived using a combination of dyes (which enter the fabric and grip fibres) and pigments (which rest on the surface of the fabric). When we visited Shiroma Bingata, we watched the workers first apply a layer of flat pigment colour which has been mixed to a liquid with soymilk. Next, they were using a very stiff bristled round brush, to almost dry brush a darker shade or different dye colour over the top in certain areas to create accent areas and to really push the pigment into the fabric.

this is how the gradations are done. a quick sweep of darker dye with a brush then smudging it hard into the fabric with a stiff bristled brush.

上の例には暈しのところに気付きました？これは、繊維を掴む「染料」と生地の上に塗る「顔料」を両方使うことによるできた効果です。城間紅型工房へ邪魔したとき、色差しのところも見えました。そこで、まず豆汁に溶けた顔料を塗っていました。次は、色がしっかり生地に入るように、硬くて小さい刷毛で染料を所々に暈して染めていました。より濃い色の染料など別の色で暈しを染めるから、印象的ですね。

The feature of bingata that I am most in awe of and often confounded by is the use of "fuse-nori", that is, a second process of very carefully covering previously dyed areas with another layer of resist paste and once dry, dyeing the background colour. The bingata patterns are often so fine and detailed and whilst the entire pattern may not be covered with fuse nori (allowing layering of colours) the time and patience involved in covering over all those tiny design parts gets some serious respect from me. 紅型の行程で一番尊敬しているのが「伏せ糊」の作業です。「伏せ糊」というのは、背景の地色が染めれるために、一回染めた模様（又はその一部）をまた糊でかぶせていくの仕事です。ものすごい細かい仕事で、時間がかなりかかりそうです。でも、この段階があるため、また別の雰囲気が出せます。

See these examples of fuse nori and what it allows you to achieve. The white areas have been preserved with the second layer of paste. 伏せ糊を使えば、こういう感じで染められます。

bingata patterns where a second layer of masking paste has allowed a background colour to be dyed too

I think I might put together a second post about our visit to Shiroma Bingata studio but suffice to say I was impressed with the different distinctive characteristics of bingata. I'm thinking it would be exciting to combine some bingata tricks and qualities with katazome or even with yuzen! Always inspiring to find new possibilities like this.　また城間紅型工房の見学について書こうと思っていますが、一応「紅型の特徴に感動しました！！」と言いたいです。紅型の独特な行程や雰囲気を型染、もしくは友禅（！？）と組み合わせしてみたいと思ってきました！新しい可能を見つけるのは楽しいですね。