Tag: study

Meibutsugire part 4 Kanto

Fabrics with stripes, plaid or checked patterns are called kanto. There are different reasons why fabrics with certain patterns can be considered kanto fabrics, and no clear rules exist for classifying them.

In the 16th centry, when kanto fabrics were introduced into Japan, the striped and checked patterns felt new and fresh to chajin (Tea …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/meibutsugire-part-4-kanto/

Meibutsugire part 3 Donsu

Donsu , a damask satin. like kinran, comes in a great variety of patterns. It is a thick, lustrous fabric made of silk. It is not as dazzling as kinran, but rather has a quiet kind of beauty. The design is integrated into the ground and does not protrude from the surface of the cloth, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/meibutsugire-part-3-donsu/

Mebutsugire part 2 Kinran

Kinran (gold brocade) is considered the most gorgeous of the meibutsu-gire. The first syllable of the word, kin, means “gold”. the second, ran, refers to cloth that was attached to the hem of a Buddhist cloak to strengthen it.  Kinran has a ground wave of twill and weft patterns woven with either gold thread or …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/mebutsugire-part-2-kinran/

Reviving the art of Nishiki

Nishiki is Japanese brocade fabric.  According to my sources and notes:  The patterns for this brocade are woven from various colored weft floats traveling over a limited distance.  In the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), in China, they produced a warp-faced nishiki where colored warps skipping over a number of adjacent wefts formed …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/reviving-the-art-of-nishiki/

Appropriate Dress

I have some new students and they were asking last week what is appropriate to wear to okeiko? What is appropriate to wear to a chakai?

The short response is kimono is always appropriate to wear in the tea room.  I almost always wear kimono, whether I am teaching, or receiving a bowl of tea …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/appropriate-dress/