Japanese sumac galls (Gobaishi) 100g are a natural plant dye for botanical dyeing.
Gobaishi are insect galls formed on the leaves of the Japanese sumac, a deciduous tree in the cashew family, when sumac aphids live on the leaves. They are also known simply as galls.
They contain abundant tannins and have long been used as a dye material and in leather tanning. Together with an iron solution, they were also used in the traditional Japanese practice of blackening teeth.
In botanical dyeing, iron mordanting produces Utsubushi-iro, a traditional Japanese color: a pale gray with a soft brown cast.
By changing the mordanting method and the number of dyeing cycles, you can create tones ranging from gentle gray to deep, dark shades.
We hope you will enjoy the calm and distinctive colors created with Japanese sumac galls.
▼ Japanese sumac galls prepared as a plant dye
▼ Color sample dyed with Japanese sumac galls
▼ Woven examples using yarn dyed with Japanese sumac galls
A scarf woven with wool yarn dyed with Japanese sumac galls.
This floating-twill scarf combines warp yarn dyed with mulberry and weft yarn dyed with Japanese sumac galls. See “Floating-Twill Scarf Dyed with Mulberry and Japanese Sumac Galls” for details.
※Please refer to the color sample shown above.
※100g can dye one T-shirt or one large stole. Color depth and tone vary depending on the fiber and dyeing method.
Other Plant Dyes
Hitotsuya（ひとつ屋） introduces many other plant dyes for botanical dyeing in addition to Japanese sumac galls.
◆ About Hitotsuya Plant Dyes
The plant dyes offered by Hitotsuya include materials traditionally sold as herbal medicines, as well as plants grown at our Hitotsuya Dye Farm, where we cultivate plants used for dyeing and weaving.
We grow them with as little pesticide and chemical fertilizer as possible. Although we take great care, small insects may occasionally be mixed in. This does not affect their quality as dye materials, and we appreciate your understanding.
We hope these materials will support your safe and natural creative work.
Where to Buy Japanese Sumac Galls 100g
Japanese sumac galls 100g are available from the following online stores.