Features of Oshima Tsumugi ・ History

The kimono fabric, which is the most commonly used for remake in Far East Fabric, is "Oshima Tsumugi"is.

The reason why it was selected as the most remake material was the simple reason that the touch was good for the first time. Glossy, smooth, smooth, still elastic and durable. I was captivated by the flexibility of sportswear chemical fibers.

Features of Oshima Tsumugi

The special feature of Oshima Tsumugi is

In particular, the crisp fabric feeling and the cool black color are only in Oshima Tsumugi, and when the fabric is determined, only the expert will put only Oshima Tsumugi in the box. Oshima Tsumugi is the fabric that has such a clear feature.

This time, I would like to introduce the characteristics, history, and charm of this Oshima Tsumugi.

History of Oshima Tsumugi

There are various theories in the history of Oshima Tsumugi. There are various theories, but I will introduce the theories that are generally transmitted and that there are such theories.

First of all, silk fabrics seemed to have begun to be manufactured from Tang to the Nara period. It is a story 1400 years ago. Tsumugi is a rough kimono, as it is also called stray clothes, but it is said that Oshima Tsumugi wore it as a high -end pongee and a merchant's head and celebrity as one of the Iki. It is a super -luxury item but it is not suitable for a formal place. Is it like a luxury denim? Of course, Oshima Tsumugi was one of the important donations to the Imperial Court and the Shogunate.

In the 1700s, it is a very luxurious item, so the Satsuma Domain has issued a ban on worn. At this time, there is a theory that if you hide Oshima Tsumugi in the mud so that it could not be found in the Satsuma clan, it was dyed black.

I will introduce it in the latter stage, but there are various theories in the dyeing method of using the mud of Amami Oshima, and it is sparse which theory is used in Orimoto.
That's where there is romance again.

The identity of the slippery fabric is in the thread

The biggest feature of Oshima Tsumugi is its smooth texture. I would like you to touch this if you have the opportunity. It is a feeling that I have never experienced before. There is the suppleness that makes you want to touch it forever.

The secret that produces the biggest feature of this slipper is in the "thread". The thread used is different from the pongee other than Oshima Tsumugi.

Tsumugi other than Oshima Tsumugi

• Yuki pongee
• Salted pongee
• Cow neck pongee
• Group pongee
• Shinshu pongee
• Kumejima Tsumugi, etc.

The kimono is large, divided into the following two types.

Animal is a typical material for silk and wool. Silk is taken from an insect called silkworm (a type of moth), which is a thread that spits out of the mouth to cover your body when this moth becomes an adult.

Silk is mainly used in luxury kimonos. It is also used for luxury shirts. Wool is a material that is often used for suits and knit sweaters for sheep hair.

The vegetable yarn is cotton and hemp. Because it is light and refreshing, it is used as a polo shirt, yukata, and summer kimono. Both are compatible with mechanical production, so they are most commonly used as everyday clothes.

First of all, pongee is made using animal silk in animal and vegetables. In other words, it is a luxury material.
Oshima Tsumugi is the same as other pongee in that it is woven using silk, which is a high -quality material, but strangely, the texture of the finished product is contrasted.

Smooth and rough. The difference was the difference in thread among the same silk.

Difference between raw silk (Oshima pongee) and pongee (other pongee)

Silk is divided into raw silk (kit) and pongee yarn (Tsumagite).
First, I will briefly explain the difference between the two threads.

Raw silk is the thread itself from the silkworm itself. And the pongee thread is a thread that did not come straight in the thread. (I explain it quite roughly)
As a result, raw silk and pongee thread have a big difference in the thickness of the thread. Raw silk is characterized by being thin because one silkworms are exhaled. On the other hand, the pongee thread is made of a thread that could not be processed into raw silk, so it is thin and distorted.

Both are the same in terms of using the silkwormed yarn, but the pongee thread is composed of a distorted yarn for one thin line. For this reason, Oshima Tsumugi, which uses raw silk, is finished in a soft and supple fabric because the thread is thin, and Yuki pongee that uses pongee thread is finished in a rough fabric because the thread is thick.

The raw silk is finished smoothly, but the one that uses the pongee thread feels like hemp at the moment of touching with your fingertips. However, when you look through the sleeves, the texture is completely different between silk and hemp. After all, the pongee thread made of silk compared to hemp is durable and hard to wrinkle, and above all, you can feel a light and firm weight.

The supple fabric of Oshima Tsumugi was because raw silk was used in silk.
This raw silk is a thread that comes from one silkworm, so it takes time and time. I think that you can know the preciousness of Otsuma Tsumugi.

Next, I would like to approach the secret of Oshima Tsumugi's astringent and dark color.

Color created by the great nature of Amami Oshima

The unique color of Oshima Tsumugi is created by the wilderness of Amami Oshima.
It is completely organic.

Amami Oshima's natural materials can be used.

The color of Oshima pongee is put out with roses and mud

It depends on the design of the finished product, but it will be pickled more than 80 times and the color will be darkened.
Still, it is not the color of Oshima Tsumugi, which is well known to be dark beige.

The mud of Amami Oshima is finally here. Oshima Tsumugi is dyed black as it has the name "Mud Oshima".

However, the mud color does not permeate the thread and turns black. If it gets wet in the rain, the color will change, and if you put it out for cleaning, it will be ruined. The blackness of wheel plums and the mud from Amami Oshima that came out was woven.

Wheel plum tannin

Wheel plums contain tannins.
Tannins are acidic and are the identity of the bitterness that you feel in your mouth when you drink tea or wine.
This tannin is also used to lick leather. Both silk and leather are common to use living animals. Therefore, treatment was required to avoid corruption. Perhaps the use of wheel plums was to save these animal materials.

By adding the iron contained in the mud of Amami Oshima to the tannin of wheel plums, the acidic tannins and the iron in the mud cause chemical reactions and become black.

This manufacturing method has developed greatly with Oshima Tsumugi made in Amami Oshima in the pongee. There are other pongee that uses mud for dyeing, Kumejima Tsumugi and Huanghachigen, but it is also interesting that the color changes by using mud in each area.

There are various theories, but it seems that pongee has been made since the 600s. How did the person at that time find this dyeing method? It is an era where there is no chemical knowledge than now. Whether it was a coincidence. There is a theory that after farming, I forgot to put a kimono in the rice field, and when I saw it the next day, it was the beginning of mud dyeing that it was dyed in jet -black.

In any case, Oshima Tsumugi was made by the great wisdom and experience of the predecessors made using things in nature, not chemical dyes.

Far East Fabric Kimono Aloha

Kumejima Tsumugi made with the same mud dye is almost the same as Oshima Tsumugi. (There is also a theory that pongee technology was transmitted from Kumejima to Amami Oshimazu.) Using wheel plums and dyeing with mud.
However, in the completed system, Oshima Tsumugi becomes dark, while Kumejima is dyed in a dull brown color. It is also an example where the finish changes when the mud and plant production area changes.
In addition, Huanghachigo, which is also made in Hachijojima, which also performs mud, is dyed using the grass of a pampas grass called Kariyasu. The lattice pattern uses a cousin bark called Madami.
Even with the same mud dye, changing the mud and plants with different production areas will change the finish so far.

The appeal of Oshima Tsumugi is a powerful craftsmanship

I've seen the history and characteristics of Oshima Tsumugi, but I feel a tremendous craftsmanship of the history and the process of production.

It is a natural material, processed by human beings, and finished one by one over time. I feel that it is a waste to sleep in a closet without being able to wear such a great kimono that is packed with romance, and that it is not needed in the used market and is dedicated.

From now on, Far East Fabric will continue to launch a wonderful remake work that is comparable to Oshima Tsumugi romance.