7499:1980's Japanese Pongee Silk Ohshima Tsumugi,Undyed, 62 inches

Traditional Japanese Textiles:

UnDyed 1980's Ohshima Tsumugi (Pongee) Silk Fabric
Off-White

Catalog# 7499

Width:14.5 inches / 36.83 cm
Length: 62 inches / 157.48 cm

US$12.00 per piece

Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1980's fabric from kimono pieces from deadstock rolls.

This is a medium-weight Ohshima tsumugi silk from Amami Islands, Japan. Details on this part of Japan's special pongee silk-making process can be found on the National Foundation for Promoting the National Costume of Japan website, which explains the natural plant dyes and mud etc. used in making Ohshima Tsumugi, quoted here:

Characteristics: A plain woven silk fabric with pre-dyed scoured threads both for warp and weft. The color is refined and calm and the fabric is soft and difficult to wrinkle. Threads are dyed with plant dyes such as "Techiki" (Raphilolepis umbellata) and indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) with a technique, peculiar only to "Oshima Tsumugi," called "Ori Jime." As a variety, an additional treatment is made to the dyed thread by dipping them in muddy water. It is "Doro(mud) Zome(dyeing)." There are several kinds of "Oshima Tsumugi":"Doro Oshima," "Ai(indigo) Oshima," "Doro Ai Oshima," "Iro(color) Oshima" and "Natsu(summer) Oshima."

Fabric Description Details:

This is a rare find of undyed Ohshima Tsumugi pongee silk which has not been dyed or otherwise processed at the factory: perfect for our textile artists and others doing dye work with these old Japanese specialty silks; This soft-ivory-white silk is lightweight but somewhat stiff due to the tightness of the Ohshima Tsumugi weave; it is not translucent and a slight sheen can be seen when viewed under brighter light.

Colors: Please use our text color descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric due to differences in contrast and color on different devices.

Condition: EXCELLENT,

Popular with our various textile artists, dye work artisans