Weave　(p. 70 )

1. Produced in Yawaramura Tsukubagun, Ibaraki Prefecture.

2. Characteristics: Indigo-dyed, striped cotton fabric. It was first a plain indigo color fabric used for farming clothes. The traditional striped fabric, called "Tozan" was modernized by an indigo research institute. These modernized fabrics are produced today.

3. Uses: Clothing

4. History: Farming clothes are indigo dyed because, it is said, the scent and ingredients of indigo are insect repellent and effective against suppuration.When the cotton plantations were flourishing in this area, farmers spun threads manually from the cotton harvested from their own fields and sent them to dyers in the same area. The research institute is one of the dyers, which successfully maintained indigo dyeing when it faced a crisis from changes in living modes.

Dyeing Method

Threads are dyed by dipping them in the dye vat, pulled out, squeezed and ventilated. When deep color is desired, this process is repeated 17 or 18 times. They are washed in the water once in the middle and once at the end of the process. There are eight different gradations and each of them is given a specific name.