In the first half of the 18th century, Owari culture flourished in the area centered around present-day Nagoya, and various artisans traveled back and forth from Kyoto and other places. It is said that the Yuzen dyeing technique was also introduced during that period.
To this day, dyed goods from the late Edo period are preserved. In addition, records of the sale of ISE Katagami (Paper Stencils) related to dyeing remain.

• Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques

  1. In the case of hand-painted Yuzen dyeing, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (1) The design shall be based on Yuzen patterns.
  (2) The preliminary sketch should be drawn using blue and white pigments, etc.
  (3) When applying resist dyeing, use either "thread resist" or "resist resist".
  (4) For "color application," "shading," and hand-painting, use a brush or paintbrush.

   

  2. In the case of kata-yuzen dyeing, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (1) The stencil shall be made of a base paper made by pasting handmade Japanese paper together using persimmon tannin, or a base paper of the same quality on which a Yuzen pattern has been carved.
  (2) "Pattern setting" is the process of matching patterns by hand.

   

  raw materials

  The fabric must be silk.

   

• Work scene

  Work scene

  Yuzen dyeing is divided into two types based on the technique used: hand-painted Yuzen and stencil-dyed Yuzen, each with a different history and work process. Here, we will briefly introduce the work process of hand-painted Yuzen, which inherits the original Yuzen dyeing technique started by Miyazaki Yuzen, a fan painter in Kyoto, at the end of the 17th century. Nagoya's hand-painted Yuzen is said to have been introduced by Yuzen dyers from Kyoto and Edo during the time of Muneharu, the seventh lord of the Owari Tokugawa family (1730-1739), and subsequently, a style of "monochromatic shading" was established to suit the frugal and austere culture of Owari.

  Step 1: Sketch

  The pre-designed patterns are drawn onto the basted white silk fabric using a blue dye solution. The blue dye solution is made from the juice of the dayflower and washes off with water. NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) dyeing is characterized by its many classical designs, such as flowers, birds, wind, and moon.

  

  Step 2: Applying thread-based starch

  From the front of the fabric, paste is squeezed out from a tube along the lines of the underpainting. This paste is made by boiling glutinous rice flour with salt and adding zinc powder, and is unique to NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing). The paste is applied to prevent adjacent colors from mixing when the colors are applied, but since the fabric is stretched with a stretcher (shinshi - a bamboo stick with a needle attached to the end used to widen the fabric) and the pattern is distorted in some parts, it is important to apply the paste according to the underpainting.

  

  Step 3: Coloring

  This is the most important step that determines the final result. The dye solution is applied to a brush or paintbrush, and the lighter colors are applied first, then the darker ones, to the inside of the resist paste. At this time, the fabric is dried over a low flame, such as charcoal or an electric heater, to prevent the resist from softening due to the moisture from the applied dye solution, which can cause the resist to become too thick or the dye to bleed. Several types of brushes or paintbrushes are used for coloring, including those for general coloring, detail coloring, and shading, and they are used according to their purpose. For the single-color shading that is characteristic of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) a flat brush called a "kataha brush," which has its bristles cut at an angle, is used. After the coloring is finished, the fabric is steamed to set the colors.

  

  Step 4: Applying paste (laying on)

  To prevent the base dye from seeping into the colored areas, the entire pattern is filled with paste. The paste used is made by boiling glutinous rice flour mixed with salt. After the paste application is complete, sawdust is sprinkled on top to speed up the drying of the paste and prevent it from sticking to other fabrics.

  

  Step 5: Dyeing

  The fabric is dyed in its base color. The fabric is stretched between pillars, and stretchers are placed at intervals of about 30 centimeters to hang it at an appropriate height. The dye solution is applied with a wide brush, but achieving an even color requires considerable skill. NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) uses a unique technique called "toro-biki-zome" to dye the black base color of formal kimonos such as tomesode. In this technique, black dye is dissolved in hot water, mixed with glutinous rice paste, and then applied with a brush, resulting in a glossy black color.

  

  Step 6: Coloring and finishing

  After thoroughly washing away any excess dye or starch from the fabric, it is steamed to set its shape, and then color and patterns are added to the patterned areas. At this stage, details that could not be added during the coloring process, such as the centers of flowers and faces of people, are drawn in. Finally, gold and silver threads or gold leaf are used for finishing touches, and the finished fabric is sewn together, matching the patterns, to complete the piece.

  

   

   

• Close-up

  Close-up

  The allure of a "monochromatic, muted tone"

  Compared to the luxurious KYO Yuzen (Dyeing), which uses gold and silver, and the vibrant KAGA Yuzen (Dyeing), which uses five colors such as crimson, yellow, and green, NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) is characterized by its subdued and understated colors. What is the appeal of this understated style, known as "monochromatic shading"? We spoke with Mitsuhisa Horibe, a renowned dyeing artist, to find out.

   

  Studying, the time of training

  When Horibe started helping with the family's Yuzen dyeing business at the age of 16, the hand-painting was very busy, and his father had five or six apprentices. "Many of them came because they loved painting and were good at it, so it was tough for me since I joined just because it was the family business," he says, looking back now, saying he never thought he would be able to do this much. At first, he was only given one color of paint called gofun, but even the way to mix gofun requires experience. If it's too thick, it will fall off. "I made it as thick as possible, and I became second to none," says Horibe. He also learned techniques such as making the color slightly darker to create an optical illusion that makes it appear darker. Back then, they would wake up a little after 5 a.m. every morning, run to the nearby Shonai River, and play catch on the riverbank. They would come back, take a bath, eat, and work. They would eat dinner and work again at night, sometimes until around midnight. On his two days off a month, he would finish up any remaining work and spend the rest of the time studying. There was so much to learn, from practicing sketches to studying pattern making.

  

  Mr. Horibe applying a colored finish to the fabric.

  It was the first time my father praised me.

  "My father was very skilled and strict. So, I was always happy when he praised me." Her father passed away about three years ago, but she says she hardly remembers him praising her. The first time her father praised her was when she was nearly 40 years old. It happened when she was visiting a department store and saw one of her works on display. It was a fan design using blue, yellow, and pink. "Oh, that's nice," he said, adding that he often went to department stores to study.

  

  The flower center is carefully drawn in.

  If it doesn't feel good to wear, then it's no good.

  "Also, I was really happy when a customer told me, 'I want to wear it right now!'" This was when she painted a picture of a princess in a twelve-layered kimono on a black background for a coming-of-age ceremony kimono. It was a masterpiece, incorporating cherry blossoms, wisteria, maple leaves, and other seasonal flowers. When the customer saw the finished kimono, she exclaimed how wonderful it was. "It's a kimono, so it has to look good when worn," says Horibe. "Even if you say, 'Paint it red,' the red a 20-year-old wears is different from the red a 40-year-old wears. So, in reality, it's difficult to do in six months. She says she needs to be told about a year in advance so that she can buy the fabric that will best showcase the pattern she designed to suit the wearer. By the way, I asked about the price. It's apparently 600,000 to 700,000 yen. If you think of it as buying a designer suit, it's not that expensive.

  Patented "Jukou Dye"

  Currently, Ms. Horibe mainly creates works using "Juko-zome," a dyeing technique that utilizes leaves such as bamboo grass, cypress, and ferns. She first experimented with dyeing using baseball nets when she played morning baseball, and later, through research with her father, developed a new method. Juko-zome, for which she has obtained a patent, has won numerous awards at dyeing exhibitions. Ms. Horibe says she finds creating Juko-zome works incredibly enjoyable. Her Juko-zome pieces, too, tend to feature subdued, muted colors.

  

  A work using the "Juko-zome" dyeing technique. This technique uses leaves from ferns, cypress trees, and other plants to create the dye.

  The charm of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) lies in how it looks and feels when worn.

  The defining characteristic of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) lies in its understated elegance, achieved through the use of subtle shades of a single color. Instead of using flashy colors, it employs a limited number of calming hues. Mr. Horibe says that all colors are created from just six or seven colors. "I think the deep, timeless colors are what make it so good," he says. To create beautiful colors, it's not enough to just use pretty colors; it's essential to use colors that are easy on the eyes. As the saying goes, a kimono must look good when worn, and the beauty of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) lies in how it looks when worn.

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    A characteristic of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) is that the number of colors used in a single piece is kept to a minimum.

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    Oda Nobunaga.
    Born in Nagoya, Owari Province in 1534 (Tenbun 3). Died in 1582 (Tensho 10).

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    Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
    Born in Nakamura, Owari Province in 1536 (Tenbun 5). Died in 1598 (Keicho 3).

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    Tokugawa Ieyasu.
    Born in Okazaki, Mikawa Province in 1542 (Tenbun 11). Died in 1616 (Genna 2).

  Craftsman Profile

  ​Michihisa Horibe

  Born in 1947, he started his family's Yuzen dyeing business at the age of 16. While inheriting the techniques of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing), he has created his own unique style and has won numerous awards.

  

  Mitsuhisa Horibe. He also runs a hand-painted Yuzen dyeing class in his workshop on the second floor of his home.

  Anecdotes

  Is Nagoya flashy? Or is it understated?

  People from other regions often think of Nagoya as flashy. They imagine extravagant weddings and bridal dowries. However, some may wonder, "Was the somewhat subdued color scheme of NAGOYA Yuzen (Dyeing) established to suit the region's culture of frugality and simplicity...?" In fact, Nagoya is a place where people live simply in everyday life, but go all out on special occasions (major events like weddings). Compared to Kyoto, which was a society of the aristocracy, and Osaka, which was a town of merchants, Nagoya was a town of samurai. Since Tokugawa Ieyasu built Nagoya Castle and established the town of Nagoya in 1612, it was ruled by the Owari Tokugawa family until the Meiji Restoration. Owari and Mikawa, well known for producing the three great figures of the era—Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu—are regions where simplicity and strength have been highly valued.