Image: Wikimedia Commons
Honba Kihachijo is a plant-dyed silk textile handed down on Hachijojima, a remote island about 290 kilometers south of central Tokyo. Once called 'the island no bird visits,' Hachijojima is said to have paid plain pongee as tribute as early as the Muromachi period, and the dyeing techniques still used today are believed to have been established around the Kansei era (1789-1801) of the Edo period. Thread is dyed using only plants native to the island: yellow from hachijo-kariyasu (a type of grass), kaba-iro (russet brown) from the bark of madami (machilus trees), and black through mud-dyeing with the bark of chinquapin trees. The dyed thread is woven on a hand-thrown shuttle into extremely simple designs -- plain, striped, or checkered -- and the fabric is said to grow softer with wear and its colors more vivid with washing. Dyeing black requires a painstaking process of soaking the thread in a decoction of chinquapin bark and sun-drying it as many as 40 times, producing a deep, lustrous black. From the mid-Edo period onward, striped and checkered patterns also came to be woven, and the craft survives today as handwork passed down through generations of women on the island. It was designated a Traditional Craft Designated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in 1977 (Showa 52).
Origin
The history of Honba Kihachijo is long-standing: plain pongee is said to have been paid as tribute from Hachijojima as early as the Muromachi period. Hachijojima, a remote island also known as a place of exile, nurtured a weaving culture among its women within the constraints of limited resources. A distinctive dyeing and weaving technique using only plants native to the island was refined over many generations.
History
The dyeing technique using the three base colors of yellow, kaba-iro, and black that survives today is believed to have been established around the Kansei era (1789-1801) of the Edo period. By the mid-Edo period, striped and checkered patterns also began to be woven, broadening the range of designs. Generations of island women have carried on the handwork, and it was designated a Traditional Craft Designated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in October 1977 (Showa 52) and a Traditional Craft Designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in December 1982 (Showa 57).
Features
The defining feature of Honba Kihachijo is plant dyeing using only plants native to the island. Yellow is dyed with hachijo-kariyasu, kaba-iro with the bark of madami trees, and black through mud-dyeing with chinquapin bark, and these three base colors are woven into simple designs -- plain, striped, or checkered. Black dyeing in particular involves repeating the process of dyeing the thread in a decoction of chinquapin bark, wringing it out, and drying it in the sun as many as 40 times, producing a deep, lustrous sheen. The fabric is said to grow softer with wear and its colors more vivid with washing.
Techniques
Plant dyeing (yellow, kaba-iro, and black)
Thread is pre-dyed using hachijo-kariyasu, madami (machilus trees), and chinquapin trees native to the island as dyes. Black dyeing in particular involves repeating a cycle of dyeing the thread in a decoction of chinquapin bark and sun-drying it about 40 times, producing a deep luster.
Hand weaving with a hand-thrown shuttle
The dyed thread is woven into the weft using a hand-thrown shuttle, in either plain or twill weave. Simple designs -- plain, striped, or checkered -- bring out the natural beauty of the dye colors.
Materials Used
Production Process
- 1
Thread reeling and dyeing
Raw silk is reeled and pre-dyed into the three base colors -- yellow, kaba-iro, and black -- using dyes such as hachijo-kariyasu, madami, and chinquapin bark.
- 2
Mud-dyeing and sun-drying
For black dyeing, the process of dyeing the thread in a decoction of chinquapin bark, wringing it out, and sun-drying it is repeated about 40 times, producing a deep, lustrous black.
- 3
Warping and setting the loom
The dyed thread is arranged in the proper order to form striped or checkered patterns, in preparation for weaving.
- 4
Hand weaving
Using a hand-thrown shuttle to weave in the weft thread, the fabric is woven into a single bolt of cloth in plain or twill weave.
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Artisans & Workshops
黄八丈めゆ工房
A workshop with 145 years of history, run by the Yamashita family, which has woven Kihachijo on Hachijojima for generations. Led by fourth-generation weaver Fumiko Yamashita, it produces Honba Kihachijo through a consistent handmade process from plant dyeing to weaving, and also offers workshop tours and sells small dyed items.
Official site →How to Buy
- 黄八丈めゆ工房
- The Yamashita family's workshop shop in Nakanogo, Hachijojima. In addition to bolts of cloth, visitors can purchase plant-dyed small items and observe the traditional dyeing and weaving techniques up close.Where to buy →PR
Hands-on Experiences
黄八丈めゆ工房
東京都八丈島八丈町中之郷2542
Open 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00 (inquiries required). In addition to workshop tours, a weaving experience is available from around 3,300 yen, and a full-course experience that includes dyeing starts from around 10,000 yen, letting visitors feel the craft of Honba Kihachijo firsthand.
View details →FAQ
Q. Where is Honba Kihachijo made?
A. It is made on Hachijojima, a remote island about 290 kilometers south of central Tokyo. Its defining feature is the use of only plants native to the island as dyes, a distinctive plant-dyeing technique that cannot be reproduced anywhere else.
Q. What do the three colors of Kihachijo represent?
A. Yellow is dyed with hachijo-kariyasu (a type of grass), kaba-iro with the bark of madami (machilus) trees, and black through mud-dyeing with chinquapin tree bark. All three colors come from plants native to the island and are woven into simple designs -- plain, striped, or checkered.