Passing Down the History of Approximately Four Thousand Years of Tsuzure Ori to the Present Day

Kiyohara Orimono is a long-standing establishment that continues to create textiles centered around "Tsuzure Ori," a weaving craft believed to have been founded in Kyoto during the Muromachi period. The current workshop is located in Shiga Prefecture. Among the famous Kyoto Nishijin weaves, "Tsuzure Ori," the oldest type of fabric, has a history of approximately four thousand years, passed down from ancient Egypt.

My encounter with the current head, Mr. Seiji Kiyohara, led to our support through the "BIWAKOTO" project organized by the Shiga Prefectural Government. Using the traditional technique of Tsuzure Ori, Kiyohara Orimono creates items such as fukusa (ritual silk cloth) and obi (sash). However, in previous generations, they expanded the scale of Tsuzure Ori weaving machines and embarked on a venture involving grand curtains called "donchou," which adorn stages and halls. They produce these enormous, dazzling curtains with widths of up to 20 meters from a single piece of fabric for various locations across the nation.

I also collaborated with Mr. Kiyohara to create a monumental art textile in partnership with Japanese and French artists. This piece was crafted for the Uniqlo Paris-Rivoli store that opened in 2021, and it is part of my production work. In addition to decorative Tsuzure Ori creations, Kiyohara also operates a gift brand called "Sufuto," which specializes in crafting celebratory items.

A Proposal of Tsuzure Ori Weaving that Embraces Everyday Life

Originally, Tsuzure Ori weaving was used to make items such as fukusa (ritual silk cloth), obi (sash), festival curtains, and stage curtains. Whether during moments spent in formal attire or the instant when the stage curtain rises, Tsuzure Ori has intimately accompanied people as the pinnacle of artistic woven textiles befitting special occasions. We named the celebratory textile "sufu," and with this in mind, Sufuto will make items that accompany special occasions and are suitable for celebrations and gifts.





How about giving Sufuto as a gift item to adorn the special days of your loved ones?