Shiozawa Pongee

The history of weaving in the Shiozawa area is very long and an example of a linen cloth--now Echigo linen--woven during the Nara period (710-794) is preserved in the Shosoin Repository in Nara. The skills and techniques used to weave this linen cloth were adopted for the weaving of a silk cloth that became Shiozawa pongee and was first woven during the Edo period (1600-1868).

This cloth is characterized by a very particular sense of quality and refinement derived from its ikat patterns which are composed of fine crosses called kagasuri--"mosquito ikat"--and a kikkogasuri of box-like pattern, both achieved by tying bundles of thread and rubbing in the dyestuff before weaving. The cloth is used exclusively for kimono and this ancient craft is now sustained by 30 government recognized Master Craftsmen by 16 firms engaged in the weaving of this wonderful cloth.