Thoughts on "craftsmen in the division of labor within the Nishijin"

Thoughts on Nishijin Craftsmanship

Thoughts on “craftsmen in the division of labor within the Nishijin”

In Nishijin, there are people who are important to us.
Even as the world becomes high-tech mechanized, we have skilled craftsmen in our background.

染料を計量することなく絹糸を染め上げる、経験が必要な「勘染」の職人の仕事風 

Dyer photo @studio_fit_kyoto

染料を計量することなく絹糸を染め上げる、経験が必要な「勘染」の職人の仕事風 

Dyer  photo @studio_fit_kyoto

Work scene of a “kanzome (intuition dye)” craftsman at work, dyeing silk threads without weighing dyes, which requires experience.

Is Nishijin one company?

It is often thought that only one large factory weaves Nishijin textiles, but in fact there are numerous small weaving factories in the area known as “Nishijin,” each producing textiles with their own unique characteristics.
What supports these factories are the many craftsmen.

We have workplaces within walking distance of our clients, and we help each other with our work to produce a piece of Nishijin textile.

西陣 京都市情報館HPより
Nishijin map Kyoto City Information Center HP

According to the Nishijin Textile Industry Association, 12 different techniques are recognized as the definition of Nishijin textiles, indicating that a variety of textiles can be woven in Nishijin.
There are many weavers in Nishijin.
If you click on the image here, you can go to the union’s homepage and see a list of weavers belonging to the Nishijin Textile Industrial Association.

西陣織工業組合組合員検索
Nishijin Textile Industry Association Member Search

Nishijin Okamoto Nishijin Kinran brocade

We, Nishijin Okamoto, weave Nishijin brocade, which is said to be the origin of Nishijin brocade.
Our weaving technique, which has a long history, is called weft brocade (No. 3 in the above photo), which uses a variety of weft yarns to produce silk fabrics.
This also requires the hands of many craftsmen in different branches of the industry.

経糸を整経する職人の仕事風景 染料を計量することなく絹糸を染め上げる、経験が必要な「勘染」の職人の仕事風 photo @studio_fit_kyoto 染料を計量することなく絹糸を染め上げる、経験が必要な「勘染」の職人の仕事風 photo @studio_fit_kyoto 

Warping photo @studio_fit_kyoto

経糸を整経する職人の仕事風景 

Warping photo @studio_fit_kyoto

It is our role as weavers to combine their efforts and carry out the final weaving process.

Working at weaver

The work of the weaver can be broadly divided into the following activities.

  1. Receive an order for a job
  2. Decide what kind of textile to weave with the recipient of the order
  3. Order design, prepare data of pattern and pattern paper.
  4. Prepare silk yarns (sort from reel to skein, cone winding, wooden frame winding, etc. as needed)
  5. Order for yarn dyeing
  6. Order for warping
  7. Preparation and maintenance of weaving machines
  8. Weaving
  9. Inspection
  10. Post-processing order
  11. Shipping
力織機での製織風景 

Weaving on a power loom photo @studio_fit_kyoto

西陣織金襴 手機での製織風景  

Weaving on a handmade loom photo @hidehiro2362

Working with Customers

Our work is only possible because of our customers.
Craftsmen work together to create a piece of cloth, and transporters deliver the goods to our customers.
Our work is made possible by human hands.

西陣織 金襴 国旗の色をイメージしたテーブルランナー 

Custom-made table runner

ファブリックタイル THE HAPPO by Hakuba Hotel Group 

fabric tile THE HAPPO by Hakuba Hotel Group

コトチカ四条 星乃珈琲 西陣織金襴を使った椅子 

Upholstered chair backs, Kotochika Shijo, Hoshino Coffee

As the age of AI arrives, we believe that the power of people is indispensable to enrich people’s hearts and minds.

The charm of Nishijin textiles is created by the passion and skill of the craftsmen behind the textiles.
We will not forget the existence of these behind-the-scenes workers and will continue to collaborate with them to carry on this beautiful story.

We want as many people as possible to know about Nishijin and purchase our products so that the Nishijin production area can continue to exist.

Nishijin is a production area that weaves textiles using various techniques that are rare in the world.

西陣織工業組合 証紙 187 岡本織物株式会社
Nishijin kinran brocade certificate 187 Okamoto Orimono Co., Ltd

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