I’m on my way to Shimada City in Shizuoka Prefecture in my trusty kei truck to study Oigawa Kuzufu.
For someone from Kansai like me, once I’ve made it as far as Shizuoka, it already feels like “Kanto”. I keep heading east on the expressway in my usual kei truck. Normally, a trip this far would already feel like a little adventure, but this time I’m not traveling for fun. I’m going to learn how the familiar kuzu plant is turned into fiber, then yarn, and finally cloth.
▼ Eastward, mile after mile, in my trusty kei truck.
By evening, I stop for a short break at a service area. As daylight gradually fades, I continue farther east. At night I reach NEOPASA Hamamatsu. After driving all the way here from Osaka in a kei truck, I really feel it: “I’ve come a long way!”
▼ A service area at dusk. Still heading east.
▼ NEOPASA Hamamatsu at night. I’ve made it to Shizuoka.
Five Days Learning at Oigawa Kuzufu
This time I’m visiting Oigawa Kuzufu in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture. More information is available on the official website. At Hitotsuya, I have also worked on extracting fiber from kuzu in posts such as “How to Make Kuzu Thread Vol. 1”, but this time I will learn again at the actual workshop. How to choose the plants, how to extract the fiber, what the work feels like in the hands—things that books and the internet alone cannot teach. I’m going to study carefully.
So, what discoveries await at Oigawa Kuzufu? This time I’m the student, joining a five-day workshop filled with nervous excitement and anticipation!