Vintage Japanese Kimono Fabrics by Pieces: Japanese Textile Fabric Swatches

7369: 1980s Japanese Tsumugi (Pongee) Silk, Arai-Hari, 50 inches Piece

Catalog# 7369

1980s Vintage Japanese Textiles:
Tsumugi Silk Kimono Fabric Piece
Arai-Hari Used

Width: 14.5 inches / 36.83 cm
Length: 50 inches / 127 cm

Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1980s fabric from kimono pieces from an Arai Hari (special Japanese kimono cleaner -- see info on Arai-Hari HERE from John Marshall, expert on Japanese textiles .)

Description: Tsumugi (pongee) silk derived from 1980s kimono; The fabric is lightweight, slightly translucent, and with a slight texture to the touch; This color is mix of several close hues of blue,gray, and navy; Overall color (from a distance) fabric is sort of light colonial blue); Also, while the fabric seems to be solid with a single vertical band, upon closer inspection you see the entire fabric is interwoven in a checkerboard pattern of rectangles, 1.5 inches/38.1mm X 1 inch/25.4mm (Please see last closeup); the design is the same on both sides; (please see close-ups).

Condition: EXCELLENT, remarkable condition for its age.

Cultural Background Note: From www.nippon-kichi.jp:

Tsumugi are silk textiles woven by hand using thread collected from the floss of the cocoons.
The floss is made from debris of the cocoons and spun by hand into thread. Because the thread is called “tetsumugi ito” or “ tsumugi ito”, the textile made from the thread became to be known as tsumugi.

Tsumugi is characterized by its unique texture and dull gloss coming from subtle variations of the tsumugi threads. It is extremely durable and has been used for everyday clothes and working clothes since ancient times....

To read the rest of this above article and learn more about tsumugi, please visit: www.nippon-kichi.jp