Tokyo Honzome Chusen (Dyeing)
Tokyo Honzome Chusen is a stencil dyeing method that has its origins in a method of dyeing tenugui hand towels devised by a dyer in Edo at the end of the Edo period. The early stages of the technique seem to have been established by the mid-19th century. Since the end of the Meiji period in Tokyo, Chusen has been applied to yukata fabrics and the technique has been refined. Since the dye is poured onto both sides of the fabric, which are shaped equally, the dye is dyed on both sides with both precision and a deep sense of fluctuation. Today, its uses have expanded to include hand towels and yukata, as well as accessories, clothes, and interior goods.
Feature
It is said that the origin of chusen in Edo-Tokyo is that a dyer in Fukagawa devised a method of pouring indigo over the molded cloth in order to dye tenugui, which had a lot of white material that was difficult to dye with regular indigo. In the early to mid-19th century, coinciding with the advent of indigo dyeing, tenugui navy blue shops (later known as the dyeing industry) gathered in Kanda, and a culture developed in which hand towels with creative designs were custom-dyed and handed out by entertainers and hobbyists. did. Chusen began with tenugui, but at the end of the Meiji period, yukata fabrics also began to be dyed. In Tokyo, since the Edo period, yukata have been dyed using a precise double-sided dyeing technique called nagaita nakagata, so we have pursued this technique in chezome, and are good at crisp, detailed patterns, delicate differences, shading, and Hosokawa dyeing. . Chusen dyeing in Tokyo, which values painstaking handwork, has been called ''honzome'' since the early Showa period, and the playfulness and craftsmanship of the Edo period has been inherited to this day.
How to make
The pattern paper stretched on the formwork is lowered onto the fabric and the resist dyeing paste is applied with a spatula. By folding the fabric exactly over the edge where the glue was placed and repeating the stamping process, the resist glue will be applied equally to both sides of the fabric.
The fabric is shaped several times at a time, and dyed by pouring the dye in a kettle with a long, narrow mouth onto the folded fabric. Turn the whole thing over and pour the dye from the back as well.
Dyeing techniques include ''one-color dyeing,'' ''differential dyeing,'' which dyes multiple colors at once, ''bokashi dyeing,'' which blends different colors of dye together, and ''Hosokawa dyeing,'' which dyes in layers. In the case of differences, we use a paste tube to create a dike of resist-dye paste on parts of the Hosokawa River, and when dyeing detailed patterns, we use a ''poke stick'' to carefully dye. The dyed fabric is washed with water and dried in the sun.
