Amid the crowds of a summer festival, has a shibori-dyed yukata (a light cotton summer kimono) ever caught your eye—its surface raised in tiny bumps, somehow cool and breezy despite being cotton? Even under the single term “shibori,” the look changes entirely depending on where it was made. Let’s unravel a small story behind today’s garment—the mechanics of shibori and the differences between its production regions.
What Is Shibori? The Mechanics of Binding and Resist-Dyeing
Shibori is a technique in which cloth is bound with thread or otherwise resisted from dye to create a pattern. By creating areas the dye cannot penetrate, a white pattern emerges once the binding is undone—that is the basic mechanism of shibori. It is thought to have arisen naturally in many parts of the world, including India, China, and Central and South America, so it is by no means a technique unique to Japan. In Japan, its history runs deep, and examples can already be found among the textile relics of the Nara period preserved at Horyuji Temple and the Shosoin Repository. This corresponds to “kokechi,” one of the three resist-dyeing techniques (“sankechi”) that came from China, and it is a dyeing craft that has continued unbroken into the present day.
The Features and Historical Background of Arimatsu-Narumi Shibori
In the Edo period, shibori dyeing was broadly divided into the delicate “Kyo Kanoko” of Kyoto and the various “regional shibori” of the provinces. Among the regional shibori traditions, Arimatsu-Narumi shibori developed under the protection of the Owari domain. Around the towns of Arimatsu and Narumi in what is now Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, cotton shibori dyeing has been made since the early Edo period. Its signature form is cotton dyed with indigo, and because the pattern changes depending on how the thread is bound, it is also known as “kukuri-zome” (binding-dyeing). Its light, cool texture suits yukata fabric perfectly, and indeed it remains a favorite choice for yukata to this day. Shibori-producing regions sprang up across Japan from the late Edo period into the Meiji era, but many disappeared under the impact of the two World Wars, and today only Kyoto and Arimatsu are said to remain as major production centers. Even so, Arimatsu has held the top spot nationwide in shibori production volume ever since the Edo period, and in 1975 it became the first traditional craft in Aichi Prefecture to be designated a National Traditional Craft. Cotton indigo dyeing is also touched on in What Is Aizome? Unraveling Indigo and the Japanese Way of Life, a Story of Wearing Cool Blue.
How It Differs from Kyo Kanoko Shibori
So what sets Kyoto’s shibori apart? Kyo Kanoko shibori is prized for its three-dimensional texture, born from fine, tightly bound dots in styles such as hitta shibori and hitome shibori, combined with vivid multicolor dyeing. Its signature form, hon-hitta shibori, is painstaking work in which each individual dot is wound and bound three to seven times using only the fingertips and silk thread—for a fully shibori-covered furisode (a long-sleeved formal kimono), as many as 120,000 to 300,000 individual bindings may be required. When you consider how much handwork goes into a single kimono, it’s easy to understand why the price runs so high. Arimatsu-Narumi shibori, by contrast, is distinguished by its use of a wide variety of binding techniques on cotton cloth to create painterly expressions, whereas Kyoto’s technique is almost entirely limited to silk kanoko shibori. If Kyo Kanoko shibori is a form of shibori that has perfected “delicacy and formality,” Arimatsu-Narumi shibori has cultivated “a breadth of technique and closeness to daily life”—the two have followed somewhat different paths, both in material and in use. Densely worked, fully covered shibori makes the entire fabric surface swell with texture, and because of the labor involved, it is sometimes used for especially formal occasions.
Why Shibori Is Used for Yukata and Kimono
With these differences in mind, it becomes clearer why shibori is so often used for yukata. Being made of cotton, Arimatsu-Narumi shibori—combined with the texture created by the binding—gives the fabric a lightness and coolness that has made it a long-beloved choice for yukata fabric. Pairings of a shibori yukata with a shibori obi (the wide sash tied around a kimono) are also introduced, and layering the same technique throughout an outfit is one way to enjoy this style. For more on dressing around yukata, see Yukata vs. Kimono: What’s the Difference? A Gentle Guide from Tailoring to Styling.
Living with Shibori Dyeing Today
Both Kyoto and Arimatsu face challenges such as a shortage of successors and competition from overseas products, yet both are working to expand their markets and develop new materials. Each individual dot of handwork carries the fingertip memory of the person who bound it—isn’t that a rather wonderful thought? The more you know, the more the appearance of shibori cloth begins to change before your eyes. Next time you pick up a piece of shibori, try paying attention to the fineness of the bound dots and the material of the cloth—you may start to see the character of its home region emerge. As the air turns cool enough to long for an unlined kimono, choosing a cool, refreshing piece of shibori is a pleasure all its own.