Tokyo Some Komon 12/13
Overview:
Tokyo Some Komon is a textile that is stencil-based. This textile, although bland from afar, becomes intricate art as you come closer. With over 1,000 dots every 3 centimeters, called goku designs, Edo komon is more monochromatic, while its counterpart, Tokyo oshare komon, is more colorful. The way to create so many dots is to have multiple layers of dots laid on top of each other, taking up space as it goes on. This fabric is now mainly used in smaller clothing designs. Such as ties, handkerchiefs, and dresses.
History:
With roots in Shinjuku and Setagaya. As well as dating back to the Muromachi era. Feudal lords wore this cloth, which increased the demand. Which then created the mass production of the textile during the Edo period. This fabric was only made for samurai and daimyo at first, but as time went on, regular people started to wear it, which made it lose its value. Also, more designs started to be implemented on the fabric. Such as gods, animals, and nature. Daiymo also added crests to their Some Komon as well.
Process:
First, sheets of Japanese paper are traced with persimmon where the design is cut. Using small tools like gimlets Then, a starch base is concocted. This takes many tries to perfect the fabric because it has to be perfect. Then the starch is applied and gets ready for the dyeing process. This process takes the longest because everything needs to be perfect. It must match; there is no room for error. Then the textile is dried on a wooden board. When dry, the textile is removed from the wood board and starch is applied again. What happens next is that a roller extends it and makes sure that the dye is evened out. Next, the dye is steamed. Then it is washed in a running water system to evenly remove dye throughout the textile. Then it is dried, and the finishing touches, such as the crest, are applied.
Photo via: www.dento-tokyo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp
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