Discover Japanese Textiles

One could never find a race that gave a deeper sense of value to its textiles than the Japanese.

Japanese textiles, coined as Orimono, enjoy a special status in the country’s rich history, especially when you’re looking at the societies that were formed throughout the different eras. Because of its close association with the human body through garments and banners used by the Japanese, the different colors, patterns, and materials that compose Japanese textiles perfectly denote the country’s traditions, affluence, and culture. Also, textiles can determine an individual’s age, rank, gender, occupation, and other affiliations. But most importantly, especially during the Edo and Meiji periods, textiles and subsequent clothing are important determiners of social identity.

Different from other cultures wherein textiles could be as simple as just color and material, earlier periods in Japan’s history saw its people toying with and even perfecting different manufacturing techniques especially in the departments of weaving, knitting, and dyeing. The industry has a long history of striving for upgraded quality in product and process technology. And this dates back from the earlier periods in Japanese history up to the present.