The work you see above was made primarily by dyeing processes. The garment was colored using pigment to create this elaborate image of a lobster. How is this done? 

Rice paste.

There is more to be said about how this was made than simply “rice paste,” but that is a large part. Ever since the Asuka (593-710)and Nara (710-94) periods, when both textile art and artisans from China and Korea entered the country, Japan has had a flourishing textile culture(Jackson, 9). Dyeing has a very rich history in Japanese textiles, especially in rural areas during the Edo Period (1600-1868). Strikingly, one of the main reasons this happened is because of legislation. There were bans on women and commoners from wearing many pieces of woven fabric and embroidery (Brandon, 32).In addition, many dye artisans left their posts in cities after copious taxation was placed on them, and they founded dye shops for locals where they went (47). For these reasons, dyeing became a desirable way to decorate textiles.

The three main traditional methods of dying in Japan are tsutsugaki, katazome, and shibori. Shibori is a form of tie dying where no paste is used, but rice paste comes into the picture (quite literally) in the other two approaches. Tsutsugaki is produced much like a drawing. A paste of glutinous rice flour (mochiko, the same flour used to make mochi),water, and lime is filled into a paper tube with a thin nozzle. The rice paste is squeezed out in thin, delicate lines like a frosting pipe. The paste is then left to dry and harden on the cloth. The cloth is then dyed in a background color where, for example, indigo has been a common color. More colors are sometimes added by repeat dying or with a brush. The rice paste is finally washed off with water, revealing the original color of the cloth untouched by dye.

Katazome similarly uses rice paste, but it isapplied differently. Instead of drawing a design onto the cloth directly via a nozzle, the design of katazome is printed onto the cloth via a paper stencil. The rice paste is smeared on top of the paper stencil. Everywhere that is cut out in the stencil, rice paste seeps into the fabric. Like tsutsugaki, the paste is dried, and the fabric dyed. An intricate pattern is revealed when the paste is washed off.

Tsutsugaki, katazome, and shibori are, in essence, exercises in negative space. Complex lines and textures emerge from having some parts dyed and others not. It is the ultimate testament to a simple process having an elegant and complex result.

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Sources

Brandon, Reiko. Country Textiles of Japan: The Art of Tsutsugaki. John Weatherhill, Inc., 1986.

Jackson, Anna. Japanese Textiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum. V&A Publications, 2000.

Wada, Yoshiko. Memory on Cloth: Shibori Now. Kodansha International, Inc., 2002.