At Oigawa Kuzufu, fermented kuzu is washed in a stream, its fibers are extracted and hand-joined into yarn, then woven into kuzufu over a five-day workshop.
Day one at Oigawa Kuzufu: harvesting kuzu on the Oigawa riverbank, boiling it, rinsing it in water, then placing it in a muro to ferment.
Heading to Shimada, Shizuoka, in my trusty kei truck to study Oigawa Kuzufu. A five-day workshop begins, following kuzu from fiber to yarn and cloth.
A Matsusaka cotton hand-weaving experience at the Matsusaka Momen Hand-Weaving Center, exploring the quiet beauty and depth created by indigo stripes, warp, and weft.
After visiting Tomioka Silk Mill, I travelled to the Toyota Commemorative Museum, where a wood-and-iron loom connected Hitotsuya’s power loom with a form of making in which human hands and kikai still worked together.