There is a textile called “Kawagoe Tozan” in the Kawagoe area of Saitama, which has a vestige of the Edo period. Although it is made of cotton, it has a moist texture and luster similar to silk. It fascinated Edo people at the end of the Edo period, and production once stopped, but now it has once again weaved a new history as “affordable and stylish.” What is its magnificent journey, which is connected to Britain’s industrial revolution and the local townscape?
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Sheila Cliff watches the Kawagoe Tozan cloth she designed being woven in Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture.
◆Can be washed at home, no need to worry about rain, and cheaper than silk kimono
The fabric was found in a kimono shop in Kawagoe City. “Gofuku Kasama” sells about 20 types of Kawagoe Tozan fabrics and accessories made from cloth. Some of the patterns were designed by local elementary school students. The owner, Mihiro Kasama (50), says, “You can wash them at home, and you don’t have to worry about rain.They are much cheaper to make than silk kimonos, so they are especially popular among young people.” It was also used as indoor wear on JR East’s luxury sleeper train, Shiki-shima.
Kawagoe Tozan was born during the 18th century British industrial revolution. Midori Fujii, who publishes a regional magazine in Kawagoe, says, “It all started when British-made cotton yarn, which was mass-produced using spinning machines, entered Japan.”
Mihiro Kasama shows Kawagoe Tozan fabric used for indoor wear for sleeper trains in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture.
◆Production stopped once, but revived in the late Showa period
“Tozan”, which refers to imported cotton fabric, is a luxury item. Thin threads were needed to make the cloth thin and supple, which was difficult to manufacture using domestically produced cotton. However, when Yokohama opened its port in 1859, cheap and thin spun yarn arrived from Britain. A textile merchant in Kawagoe was the first to notice, bought the thread, had it woven at a nearby weaving shop, transported it to Edo, and sold it as “Kawagoe Tozan”, where it quickly became very popular. The area around Kawagoe was originally a textile production area, and the high level of technology still existed in Tozan.
The streetscape of the storehouse style still remains in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture
Fujii explains, “During the Meiji period, wealthy merchants built storehouse-style buildings one after another to prevent fires.The ‘Little Edo’ townscape that still remains today has its roots in textiles.”
However, because it was hand-woven, production stopped due to the wave of mechanization in the early Showa era. Later, in the 1970s, the late Yoshiaki Nishimura of the weaving company Nishimura Orimono in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, worked hard to restore the fabric using both machine and hand weaving methods. A local citizen group has also been established and has begun activities to pass down handloom weaving.
◆British kimono researcher comes up with a novel design
Interacting with kimono lovers in Nagasaki and expanding sales channels for Kawagoe Tozan goods in Nagasaki City (Courtesy of Midori Fujii)
This year, Kawagoe Tozan with an innovative design was released. The idea was created by Fujii’s friend Sheila Cliff, a British resident of Japan who is known as a kimono researcher. Bright lime green with beautiful blue and reddish-purple lines.
Sheila was surprised to learn that her home country and Kawagoe were connected through kimono. “Cotton harvested by black slaves in the United States was processed into thread in Manchester, England, where I was born and raised, and was transported from the port of Liverpool to Japan. I can feel the light and shadow of the industrial revolution.”
Midori Fujii (left) and Sheila holding a copy of the regional magazine “Little Edo Monogatari” featuring Kawagoe Tozan in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture.
This fabric was woven by local textile company Marunaka (Hanno City, same prefecture). We made full use of our technical capabilities, which are trusted by world-class designers. President Akihiro Nakazato (53) says with a smile, “I’m glad to have the opportunity to be involved in restoring historical textiles.”
The regional magazine “Koedo Monogatari” published by Fujii features Kawagoe Tozan in its latest issue (No. 16). A glimpse of this can be found in the book “Saitama Kimono Walk” (Sakitama Publishing). For inquiries, please call Kawagoe Mukashi Kobo = 049 (223) 8587 =.
◆Text and photos by Ao Ida
◆If you have any opinions or requests regarding the paper, please email “t-hatsu@tokyo-np.co.jp”.
