Ushikubi Pongee
Born of the small mysteries of Nature
Ushikubi Pongee is a woven textile that has been passed down from long ago in Shiramine Village (formerly Ushikubi Village) at the foot of Mount Hakusan. In feudal times the townspeople apparently made this sort of woven silk of an uneven quality for themselves and called it "tsumugi" (home-spun silk) to differentiate it from the fine silk cloth only allowed to the ruling samurai class.
Passed down from mother to daughter
Ushikubi Pongee has come under a variety of social influences over time and is now designated as an intangible cultural property of Ishikawa Prefecture. I talked to Tomi Yamashita, who has been spinning the thread for Ushikubi Pongee for 30 years, about her work. "My family has been raising silkworms since my grandmother's time," she explained in her quiet way. The main characteristic of Ushikubi Pongee fabric is that the thread used for it is spun directly from cocoons called "tamamayu" in which not one but two silk worms live. Since the two silkworms compete for space and resources, the silk spun from this cocoon is more easily broken and this makes the spinning of it exceedingly difficult. "You can only do it with considerable experience. However it is the slight unevenness of the thread that results from this process that gives the woven cloth its lovely, distinctive texture," says Ms Yamashita. Ushikubi Pongee uses the unusual "tamamayu" thread in the weft and ordinary silk thread in the warp to make a highly expressive weave.
The slightly uneven threads catch the light softly.
More than 100 years of wear
"I am sure this job could not be done by machine," says Ms Yamashita. "And I suppose it is because of this spinning process that you get the interesting uneven texture and soft sheen of the silk along with an amazing durability." It is certainly a strong cloth and they say, if it is properly cared for, a kimono of Ushikubi Pongee will last three generations of wear -- more than 100 years. Ms Yamashita explains: "We gave the silk worms two meals of mulberry leaves collected from the mountains three times a day. When the worms started making the cocoons and became transparent we laid them on trays called 'mamushi' and left them for a week."
She uses an old-fashioned foot-pedal spinning wheel.
Upholding a craft
"We have to put the cocoons in hot water so the thread doesn't break when it's pulled off. It is very fragile indeed. We use a small implement called a kobagire to pull the thread and pull very carefully." It is certainly a skill that requires extreme patience and concentration that could not be done by machine. "You get about one skein of thread from 20 or 30 cocoons so it takes about 4000 cocoons to make enough for one kimono," Ms Yamashita says. It might be pleasant to work with that hot water in the cold winter months, but in summer it must be unbearably hot and that is just one of the reasons why there are apparently no young people willing to carry on the trade anymore.
Pulling the thread with a kobagire
200 threads in the warp; 280 in the weft
"The thread is so fine and fragile, I don't think I have ever spun a thread completely without it breaking at least once." Ms Yamashita recalls that when she first started on the job, the thread would catch on her fingers and even when she thought she had done well, she would look later and the thread would be uneven. "You have to be very calm and concentrated or the thread will be fat and thin all over the place," she says. "Even now I sometimes find it hard." Well, if a veteran spinner like Ms Yamashita has this much difficulty I wonder how long it takes to become a master -- maybe never.
"It's a terribly difficult job but what makes me happy is when I see someone wearing an Ushikubi Pongee kimono. Even if the thread wasn't spun by me, it still thrills me to see it being worn. Not long ago the actress Yoshie Mizutani came by here wearing an Ushikubi Pongee kimono and I was so proud."
Machine for twisting the yarn. The process of twisting was done by hand until very recently.
When spinners of the thread disappear there will be no more Ushibuki Pongee.
When spinners of the thread disappear there will be no more Ushibuki Pongee.
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Tomi Yamashita
It has already been 30 years since Tomi Yamashita started spinning thread for Ushikubi Pongee and she herself often wears kimono -- sometimes even to work. She wouldn't tell us her age.
