Hidazome

Hidazome Banner

Takayama or Hida-Takayama located in Gifu Prefecture, is a small town that is sometimes referred to as “little Kyoto” simply because it is apparently a well preserved example of “old Japan.” I only learned about this town through one of my many favorite NHK programs called Oshirase. The topic of this particular program was Hidazome （飛騨染め）.

Dragon Hidazome

Hidazome is actually a form of Yuzen, multi-color paste resist dyeing. It’s called Hidazome referring to the original names in that area. Some or zome (染め) means dyeing and comes from the verb someru (染める) which means to dye.

The kimono are made specifically for the two spring and fall festivals that had their beginnings in the Edo Period.The bold imagery, varying from shrine to shrine employs the same technique.

another dragon

Images are first transferred from traditional patterns onto long swaths of fabric. The fabric is stretched on shinshi (thin bamboo rods) and paste resist made from rice bran and soybeans is applied to the desired areas.

applying resist

Then the thickened dye is applied the cloth is left to dry thoroughly.   Later, it is rinsed and scrubbed in clear cold water, stretched and dried again.

applying the dye

Finally, the fabric is made into kimono and can be worn to dance in the Tokei festival.

Odori-folk dancing