Arimatsu-Narumi Shibori

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Arimatsu-Narumi Shibori is a general term for the tie-dyeing tradition passed down for about 400 years in the Arimatsu and Narumi districts of Midori Ward, Nagoya City. It is said to have begun around 1608, in the Keicho era of the early Edo period, when Owari Domain laid out the town of Arimatsu as newly reclaimed land along the Tokaido road, and Takeda Shokuro, one of the area's first settlers, began selling tie-dyed hand towels made of Mikawa cotton to travelers. Techniques developed further with the invention of shikoro-shibori in the Kanbun era, and in 1781 Owari Domain granted merchants in Arimatsu an exclusive right to produce shibori, allowing it to grow into a major industry. Techniques such as mame-shibori, Miura-shibori, arashi-shibori, and sekka-shibori proliferated, with over 100 distinct techniques developed at the tradition's peak, more than 70 of which are still practiced today. In 1975 it became the first Traditional Craft in Aichi Prefecture to receive national designation. In recent years, its use has expanded beyond kimono, with new forms of expression including collaborations with overseas brands.