Bryan Whitehead's Japanese textiles adventure - September 2023

I first began my love affair with Japan back in 2014, when I was privileged to be accepted onto Bryan Whitehead’s Japanese Textiles workshops at his home, a beautiful old silk farmhouse in the picturesque mountain village of Fujino, to the west of Tokyo.

On that trip I spent time in Tokyo and Kyoto (both capitals of Japan). “Kyo” means capital in Japanese so, when they moved the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo (formerly Edo), they simply swapped the To to the start of the name.

I had an amazing time and then, on visiting the farmhouse, the seeds were sewn to completely change my life!

My 2014 trip set me on the path to becoming a Japanese textiles artist and teacher and was where Bryan officially became my sensei and my friend. He has supported me throughout my journey and I owe him a deep debt of gratitude for his help. Thank you Bryan.

On a visit to Bryan’s farmhouse in February 2018, Bryan asked me if I would consider bringing a group of students to do one of his workshops each year and I didn’t have to think for more than a second before I said “yes please”!

I took my first group in 2019 but have had to wait until September 2023 to take my second group and we’ve had an amazing time, which I want to share with you.

My journey began in Tokyo in Shinjuku which is a busy, buzzing area of Tokyo, full of shops, bars and restaurants.

Okonomiyaki restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo,

Okonomiyaki is a cross between an omelette, a pancake and a stir fry, cooked on a griddle in front of you. It’s delicious and one of my most favourite things to eat when I am in Japan.

I then took a little side trip to Hirosaki City in the Northernmost part of Honshu, Japan’s main island, just a short hop of 4 and a half hours on the Shinkansen (bullet train).

Hirosaki is home to a traditional form of embroidery, known as Kogin (literally small thing to wear). Kogin is stitched on an evenweave fabric and is a form of counted thread embroidery work, traditionally used to decorate Sunday best jackets and to strengthen farm workers clothes. Patterns are typically in the form of a square diamond shape. I’ve been working Kogin patterns for over four years now and it was this form of meditative and calming sewing that kept me sane during the early days of COVID.

Rob Jones from Romor Designs Danburiko (dragonfly) Kogin, Aurifl cotton floss and Kogin threads on cream 18 point evenweave cotton.

Hirosaki was a strange place, quite spread out and some of the Kogin places were difficult to find (or, frankly shut on the day I was there!)

But I did find the Koginbank Institute and, when I’d proven my credentials by showing the curator some of my own work, was treated to a view of some of the really good stuff that was not out on public display…

HIgashi kogin jacket, white thread on dark blue linen. Higashi designs are an overall pattern and are from the Eastern part of Hirosaki City

NIshi Kogin jacket, white thread on dark blue linen. Nishi designs have three patterns bands on the front and two on the back, with a series of stripes (Shima) on the shoulders and are form the Western part of Hirosaki City.

There were even some nice Kogin patterns on display in the HIrosaki branch of Starbucks, where I stopped for a cold matcha tea latte. Yum!

The next day, I met the indigo otters in the foyer of the Southern Century Tower Hotel in Shinjuku for our first guided day in Tokyo. Reception is on the 20th floor and the hotel has spectacular views over Tokyo.

I took them to a fabulous Japanese haberdashery called Okadaya in Shinjuku and then to visit the Kioi Art Gallery, home to a beautiful collection of hand cut Edo period Katagami stencils. We rounded off the day shopping on Omote Sando at some vintage clothing shops selling old kimono, haori jackets and obi belts.

Tokyo at night from the 35th floor of the Southern Century Tower in Shinjuku.

The next day Bryan arrives to take us to Fujino on the train and our adventure truly begins!

The entrance to the farmhouse. You can see one of the indigo vats on the RHS.

This is the communal space where we eat all our meals…

Hiro, our wonderful chef, is also a master of Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arranging and there are stunning displays throughout the farmhouse.

Before the trip everyone is sent a Homework box with some fabrics to prepare and some stencils to cut and a major, journeyman piece of sewing, a Mokume (woodgrain) shibori pattern scarf which we design and sew before we come. I modelled my design on an Edo Katagami stencil pattern I have in a book of old patterns. I’m not sure I want to tell you how many hours I spent sewing it up but it was a lot!

Edo Katagami stencil inspiration for my Mokume shibori scard

Part of the Mokume shibori pattern after stitching

Rob Jones wearing his Mokume shibori scarf after 15 dips in the indigo

We stitched many shibori patterns, which largely involved creating pleated fabrics of different widths, which we then applied different shibori techniques to before dyeing in the indigo. These included Kantera Maki striped lines (pieces were bound to a thick rope before dyeing), Kirimeko, which had a zigzag stitched pattern on back and front (and means “shiny”), Whip stitch, which involves sewing through all the edges down both sides of the pleated fabric using a series of different sized stitches, Katano shibori, which involves precise stitching to create a pleated fabric and then dense stitching though all the layers to create a repeating pattern; and finally Kikko {tortoiseshell pattern) stitched pieces which involved concertina pleating in a series of folded triangles, which are stitched through at different points.

Midnight blue… A selection of the shibori work hanging up to dry after 10 dips in the indigo.

Rob Jones from Romor Designs, whip stitch shibori, 10 dips in the indigo

Me and the other otters bashing and rinsing our dyed pieces in the river at dusk

The other main component of our learning was Katagami/Katazome. Students were sent Kakishibugami stencil paper (handmade Mulberry paper laminated together with the 5 year’s aged juice of the Persimmon or Kakishibu) and a craft knife to prepare four designs, two circular and two square. Once at the farmhouse Bryan checked everyone’s work and then attached a silk mesh to the back with lacquer (which helps prevent the paste from going underneath the stencil).

There were some amazing designs created! I’ve shown one of mine and some of the small stencils (cut by professionals) that I acquired at the stencil museum in Tokyo.

You can buy a tote bag from the William Morris Society in Hammersmith with one of my stencil designs on it. The totes are exclusive to them at the moment…

Modern katagami stencils from the Kioi Art Gallery stencil museum in Tokyo

Romor Designs “Divided circle” katagami stencil

Bryan explained how to make the rice paste resist used for Katazome (dyeing with stencils) and we made several batches over the time we were at the farmhouse.

Traditional rice paste used for Katazome. Madder power is added to the paste to make it easier to see on the fabric.

Pasted stencils on cotton, drying before going into the indigo vat

One of the highlights of the trip for me was visiting 7th generation master stencil dyer, Noguchi-san in his studio in Hachioji. Noguchi-san is in his 80s now but still masterfully pattern matched the stencil down a bolt of fabric for us. Fortunately his son is taking over the family business and his 9 year old grandson also seems interested in continuing the family tradition. Noguchi-san’s workspace is wonderful with a series of Sukumo fermented indigo vats set in the ground and his paste is magical to use! We all pasted up our own stencils and dyed our pieces in the indigo vats. Simply magical!

Noguchi-san’s perfect rice paste!

Hera are the wooden spatulas traditionally used to spread the paste through the stencil

The master, Noguchi-san at work.

Noguchi-san’s pattern matched stencil after dyeing in the indigo

There is so much more I could tell you about my trip and the farmhouse and the fabrics I bought… If you’d like to hear more why not sign up for my Japanese textile adventure talk on the 9th November at 18.00pm where I’ll tell you all about it and show you the things I made and some of the beautiful vintage textiles I bought whilst I was in Tokyo…

If reading this has whetted your appetite to join me for my next Japanese textiles adventure, you can read more and register to join me on my 2024 trip from 17th to 28th September 2024.

The indigo otters at the end of our trip with Bryan and Hiro.