Unexpected textile finds on an idyllic Japanese island
On EYHO’s inaugural Japan textile tour in 2023, our guide the indispensable Sunny-san told me about a magical textile on his home of Amami Oshima Island. I listened with half an ear. Japan was full of magical textiles, no? As a tour conceptualiser, my job is to curate the nearly endless offerings of Japan’s material culture to enrich the overall focus of a tour.
I respected Sunny-san’s opinion. I looked up Amami Island (in the East China Sea between Kyushu and Okinawa) and what the hype was all about (actually, very little hype, just a stunningly beautiful subtropical island in Japan’s far south. Also, some very special textile traditions).
Along with a core group of intrepid travellers, I landed on Amami Island after the main tour ended. We were keen to ditch Kyoto crowds for a little-known part of Japan. First stop: the Tanaka Isson Art Museum. Like an omen, as it had Isson himself, the island’s windswept beauty would quickly enthrall us.
Mornings began with a walk on an idyllic stretch of white sand and azure sea facing our hotel.
Sum total of people seen: six
Number of rock pools, seashells, and sea-life: too innumerable to count.
All well, but our mission was to track down one of the world’s three finest textiles, Oshima Tsumugi.
Historically, the Indian subcontinent exported double ikat to Japan in the 12-13th C. In typical fashion, the Japanese innovated on an already splendid textile to weave/bind a complex resist pattern on a Shimebata loom. Around 1700, the Satsuma Domain of Kyushu designated Oshima Tsumugi a high-class textile. After the fabric became more widely traded in the late 1800's. Oshima Tsumugi became a specialty of Amami Oshima. Like sugarcane, islanders had to supply the fabric to the Satsuma Domain in lieu of tax. This ended in 1879, when Amami Oshima became part of Japan.
I learnt that the unique dyeing method uses Amami's iron-rich natural mud as a dye, rendering the silk threads into a beautiful and luminous black. After being taken off the loom, each plain weave textile has a unique and detailed graphical pattern made of over a million dots dyed onto each single silk thread before they are set onto the loom. It takes more than six months to produce the final product through over 40 processes.
When I finally came face to face with the process, I could scarcely believe my eyes. Here's a simplified step by step. (hover over each image below)
- A pattern is made (on computer in recent times)
- warp and weft threads are starched and tied separately on binding looms called Shimebata
- the resist threads are woven in
- then the piece is dip dyed in iron rich mud and a tree tannin. Could be dip dyed up to 80x for a deep rich black
- resist is removed, fabric is ripped open for the dyed threads and spooled
- dyed spooled threads are tied and matched on the loom. A needle is used for lining up slippery silk
The resulting fabric is exquisitely patterned without the geometric look of double ikat. A bolt of Oshima Tsumugi kimono yardage costs $3000 - 10,000+. For me, the only resist at this point was buying it!
Traditionally, Oshima Tsumugi kimono was not only a cloth. It was believed to protect the wearer's soul with supernatural power. When wearing a new kimono for the first time, the wearer prayed for health while facing east and with a pinch of purifying salt in the mouth. Amamians call Oshima Tsumigi nono out of affection for the textile.
On an evening when we took in a folk music and dance performance, a venerable and elegant musician arrived resplendent in an Oshima Tsumugi kimono. It had been gifted by her grandmother, and in turn from her grandmother. Oshima Tsumugi is the ultimate heirloom. A kimono can last 300 years of continuous wear.
Of course, to truly appreciate this special textile, we had to engage in a hands-on workshop. We learnt the mud dyeing process, and weaved a small sample using dyed ikat thread.
After the Oshima Tsumugi workshop, another hands-on experience awaited: the making of Bashofu, an all-natural cloth made from the fibres of ito-basho, a banana variety found in sub-tropical Japan.
Bashofu is pale and paper-like, with delicate ikat patterns created from yarn dyed in bundles. These are traditionally colored with Yeddo hawthorn (brown) or Ryukyu indigo (blue).traipsed to the fields to cut down young banana trees. During the Edo period, Bashofu was prized for summer kimonos. Along with Oshima Tsumugi, it is designated Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government.
The extraordinary textiles of this island would have justified the entire trip. Add the other charms of Amami Oshima that made it a 10: unbelievably fresh seafood, windswept vistas, each sunset photo a keeper, sub-tropical flora and fauna, a unique bonhomie created by strong relationships among local residents (sima) that also extended to visitors. For instance, a morning announcement on community PA systems by schoolchildren reminded seniors to turn off the gas before retiring for the night, or to take their flu shots, and to welcome honoured visitors to the island.
At the end of five days, like Tanaka Isson, I had fallen completely under Amami’s spell. So glad I listened to Sunny-san!
Join us in Japan Nov 10-23, 2025, and Amami Island Nov 23 - 27. We added a second tour because first tour is sold out. Details - click here.
Thanks for taking a look! I am Shila Desai, owner of E.Y.H.O. Tours. I personally handcraft itineraries, infusing them with curated activities, accommodations, and sightseeing. Together with my in-country teams, we deliver exceptional holidays every time. I invite you to leave me a comment or write shila@eyhotours.com
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