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Echigo-jofu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Echigo-jofu
TypeFabric
MaterialRamie
Production methodWeaving
Production processCraft production
Place of originEchigo, Japan

Echigo-jofu (越後上布) is a fabric of Echigo, Japan on national Important Cultural Properties listing in 1955,[1][2] and UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list since 2009.[3] It is made from fine bast fiber from the ramie plant (Boehmeria nivea), also called hemp, although not directly related to cannabis hemp.[a] After it is woven on a jibata backstrap loom (地機), the fabric is spread on snowfields (yuki-zarashi) where ultraviolet light from the sun creates ozone and bleaches it white.[5][6] Echigo-jofu has even been found in the Shōsōin repository from over 1,200 years ago.[7] The production of Echigo-jofu is recorded in detail in Hokuetsu Seppu, the encyclopedic work of human geography describing life in the Uonuma area.[8]

Production

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In the early 2000s, about 34 bolts were produced a year. It is now currently estimated at about 10 bolts a year.[9]

Uses

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The fabric is used to make summer kimono and other traditional garments, cushions and bed linens.[10]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ See Morphological Differences Between Ramie and Hemp: How These Characteristics Developed Different Procedures in Bast Fiber Producing Industry;[4] also see wikt:麻布

References

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  1. ^ Survey on the Selected Conservation Techniques – Silk thread for strings of traditional Japanese instrument, Cypress bark roof, and Ramies in Showa Village, Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, 2014
  2. ^ exhibit, Kyoto Women's University, Lifestyle Design Laboratory via Google Arts and Culture
  3. ^ Ojiya-chijimi, Echigo-jofu: techniques of making ramie fabric in Uonuma region, Niigata Prefecture, UNESCO
  4. ^ Hwang, Min Sun (2010), "Morphological Differences Between Ramie and Hemp: How These Characteristics Developed Different Procedures in Bast Fiber Producing Industry", Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings, vol. 23, Textile Society of America
  5. ^ "Echigo-jofu: Traditional Textile of the Snow Country". IHCSA CAFE. International Hospitality and Conference Service Association annex, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  6. ^ Masaki Yamada; Osamu Sawaji (February 2013), "Gifts of the Snow—Ojiya-chijimi and Echigo-jofu", Highlighting JAPAN, Government of Japan Public Relations Office
  7. ^ "Motoji Talks: In praise of Jofu(Part 2) Echigo-Jofu".
  8. ^ "Motoji Talks: In praise of Jofu(Part 2) Echigo-Jofu".
  9. ^ "Motoji Talks: In praise of Jofu(Part 2) Echigo-Jofu".
  10. ^ Dyeing & weaving – Echigo jofu, ojiya chijimi, Cultural foundation for promoting the national costume of Japan

Further reading

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  • Rinne, Melissa M. (2007), "Preserving Echigo Jofu and Nara Sarashi: Issues in Contemporary Bast Fiber Textile Production", in Hamilton, Roy W.; Milgram, B. Lynne (eds.), Material choices: refashioning bast and leaf fibers in Asia and the Pacific, Fowler Museum at UCLA, ISBN 9780974872988, LCCN 2006033706, OCLC 191890941 UW Press page
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