Beautiful fabrics like paintings

These fabrics are made using the oldest technique for weaving patterns known as “tsuzure-ori,” which allows the weaving of subtle and intricate patterns as in a painting. “Tsuzure-ori” has its roots in what are known as Coptic textiles, which have been excavated from ancient Egyptian sites from around 1,300 B.C. “Tsuzure-ori” fabrics have also been excavated from sites in China from the Han period, and sites in Peru of South America from the Pre-Inca period (of the Chancay culture), testifying to the fact that they were being made all over the world.
In “tsuzure-ori,” a sketched design is placed under the warps, and the wefts are woven in accordance with this design seen through the warps, as if drawing a picture. The fabric is woven by hand, so there is no limit to the number of colors that can be used, allowing the weaving of beautiful patterns with the subtlest gradations.
The history of “tsuzure-ori” at our company stretches back to the 19th century. When the son of the company founder, Jimbei Kawashima II, visited Europe, he was awestruck by the size of Gobelin tapestry (a type of “tsuzure-ori”) and the intricacy of the patterns. It inspired him to make fabrics that were just as intricate as Gobelin tapestries, which led to the development of our original “tsuzure-ori.” Jimbei made numerous improvements to the Gobelin tapestry, and developed his own gradation method known as “warimoku,” which he made full use of, and he eventually came to be known as the “Jimbei of tsuzure-ori.”
A “tsuzure-ori” tapestry he created for decorating a wall with won high appraisal at overseas expositions and other such events in and after the latter half of the 18th century.