How “dantsu” carpet began”Dantsu” carpets are known for products like ”Nabeshima dantsu”. Other known products include ”Kurashiki dantsu”, or ”Sakai dantsu”, but there is also another variety of ”dantsu” with history in Yamagata. We visited Oriental Carpet Mills Ltd. who started the ”Yamagata dantsu”. A ”dantsu” is basically synonymous with “carpet” but generally, “carpet” describes long ones, while the word ”dantsu” generally describe short ones. |
The birth of Yamagata dantsuOriental Carpet Mills was established in 1935. That year was a bad harvest, to the extent that girls were forced into prostitution. “My grandfather wished to do something about the situation, and started carpet making in this area.” President of the company Hiroshi Watanabe explained. First of all, he wanted to make a place where women could work. So he invited an instructor form China and learned how to make carpets. That’s how Yamagata dantsu was started. |
Traditional skills and new challengesThey continue to make handwoven carpets. The design is woven into the carpet according to the design drawing. It is a painstaking job, and only 7 to 8 centimeters can be woven a day. The carpet we saw is the result of all that work. |
ACCESS
- Oriental Carpet Mills Ltd.
- 21 Oaza Yamanobe, Yamanobe-machi, Higashi Murayama-gun, Yamagata
- URL http://www.oriental-carpet.jp/index.html