[Traditional Crafts] Handwoven Kasuri for Everyday Life
Kurume Kasuri Open Factory Program Report｜Ikeda Kasuri Textile

At the core of Ikeda Kasuri Textile is a deliberate choice: producing volume while remaining fully handwoven.
Machine weaving would certainly improve efficiency, and leaning toward a more artist-driven approach would increase the value of each individual piece. But Ikeda Kasuri Textile has chosen neither of these paths.
“Traditionally, production in this region was based on the division of labor, with each household handling different tasks.
Today, people work together in the same workshop, but the basic structure for producing textiles hasn’t really changed,” explains workshop head Daigo Ikeda.
In the past, a system known as dashibata was common: looms were placed in individual homes, threads were distributed, and the finished fabrics were later collected. About thirty years ago that system shifted, with weavers gathering to work together in workshops instead.
The structure may have changed, but the philosophy remains the same—producing volume while maintaining a focus on hand weaving.
To continue into the future, avoiding extremes is essential.
That careful sense of balance supports Kurume Kasuri as a textile that can still reach people’s everyday lives today.

In the design process, the pattern must first be translated into a weaving plan.
“Once we have a design, we start by determining how many warp threads will make up the pattern and how many passes of weft will be needed to express it,” says Mr. Ikeda.
A conscious decision has to be made to determine which parts to include in the design and which parts to paint on later. Even the smallest difference can dramatically change the final impression of the woven fabric.
A design that looks good on paper may appear different once woven, and after it is tailored into clothing, it may change again. This is a world where experience and intuition matter deeply. Within the workshop exists a cultivated sensitivity—one shaped over many years—where instinct and accumulated knowledge ultimately determine the character of the fabric.

Ikeda Kasuri Textile also takes on a wide range of dyeing work.
“We dye just about anything. We rarely turn requests away,” Mr. Ikeda gently explains.
Dyeing has become one of the workshop’s strengths 
and has led to collaborations with companies and fashion brands.
Opening the region’s traditional techniques to the outside world is another important role the workshop plays.
Inside the indigo vats, bubbles shimmer like small jewels. Indigo is a living thing, and the temperature of the vats is kept at around 25°C throughout the year. Summer or winter, the environment must be carefully maintained. The sukumo (fermented indigo leaves) used here comes from Tokushima Prefecture. The longer it ages, the easier it becomes to work with.
It is a world where both tools and materials grow familiar over time.

During the tour, visitors can observe the entire process up close—from design creation and warp thread alignment to weaving preparation, hand weaving, and indigo dyeing.
Hearing about the thought that goes into translating a design into a “weavable blueprint” changes how the weaving itself is perceived.
At the same time, there is no clear theory to determine which designs ultimately become fabric. Instead, the decision often comes down to a simple question: Does the finished design feel right?
Rather than constructing a story afterward, the process unfolds naturally through the work itself. At Ikeda Kasuri Textile, this stance is shared openly on the Open Factory program.

 

Founded in 1919, the workshop once shifted to machine weaving before returning to hand weaving about fifty years ago. During the economic downturn in the 1990s wholesalers collapsed, and the workshop survived through subcontracting work.
Rather than stubbornly preserving tradition, the workshop has always chosen a more flexible approach, making the best use of what exists in each era while taking the next step forward. This realistic and flexible approach leaves a lasting impression.
The kasuri created at Ikeda Kasuri Textile is both special and easy to incorporate into everyday life. Alongside traditional bolts of fabric, the shop offers kasuri jackets and dresses, indigo-dyed shirts, and sweatshirts —all pieces designed to be worn and enjoyed casually in daily life.

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