The Name ”Edo Komon” was only established 60 years ago?!As peace prevailed during the Edo period, the feudal lords all started to compete with lavish kimonos. In despair, the Edo Shogunate issued a new regulation, banning samurai from wearing luxurious attire. In reaction, the feudal lords came up with kimonos that looked plain from afar, hiding the designs by making them small and inconspicuous. As a result, dyeing skills developed, resulting in what is now called the Edo komon. |
Edo komon is possible because of division of laborEdo komon is stencil dyeing. The stencils that are used are ”Ise” and dyeing skills require much experience. Yasumasa told us, ”Our mission is to preserve the technique, not the work.” |
Using New StencilsThe motto of the Komiya household is that the stencils will be preserved. This does not mean that they are going to store old stencils to be reused over and over. On the contrary, they always use new stencils. Yasutaka told us that his father, Yasusuke Komiya once said, ” If you keep using the existing stencils repeatedly, the stencil makers cannot make a living. So you need to place new orders for the stencil makers to thrive. That is how skills develop.” |
ACCESS
- Komiya Dying Factory
- 3-7-4 Nishishinkoiwa Katsushika-ku Tokyo