Pouring passion into Tenugui

“Tokyo Honzome Tenugui” is a wash cloth that can be dyed with the traditional crafts “Tokyo Honzome Dye Yukata” in Tokyo.
Tokyo Wazarashi manufactures design and making Tokyo Genuine Tenugui and founded year 1889 (Meiji 22).
As the Kanji of “Sarashi” shows in the name of the company, the main business of them was supplying Tenugui fabrics before before dyeing, in their early time. Then Tokyo Wazarashi started to work on the production of Tenugui since Ichiro Takizawa, the 4th generation.
In Katsushika- Tateishi, “Tokyo Wazarashi Creation Hall” has a Tenugui store and workshop where visitors can experience dyeing Tenugui. This place shows the passion of the owner who want to introduce the fun of Tenugui design as it enable to draw the expression and ideas in the world of small piece of cloth.
When you look at several Tenugui carefully, some of them has its wrong side have no pigment went through. “Nassen” Textile prints do not pass colours through to the wrong side but “Chusen” dying can go both sides.
Tokyo Honzome Tenugui uses this “Chusen” method.
The “Chusen” dyeing technique was invented in the Meiji era, which means as literally shows “Pouring pigment” from kettle to the fabric. Before Chusen was invented, the mainstream of Tenugui making was
“Naga Ita Chugata Dying“(With wood board) that requires to dye the cloth one by one, Chusen enable to make Teugui by piling the fabric. This enable to produce Tenugui in bigger quantity, and at the time with store names, logos and products, Tenugui were the advertising of leaflets of their day.
Although the trend and style of media have changed and Tenugui became dated one, there are new movement to the Tenugui which has handmade warmth in it. At Tokyo Wazarashi, they are working on supporting people’s aspiration of “Designing and dying Tenugui” and “Drawing message” through their workshops.

Tokyo Wazarashi Co.,Ltd.
4-14-9,Katsushika-ku, tateishi, Tokyo 124-0012
Tel:+81-3-3693-3333
Fax:+81-3-3694-7788
Ichiro Takizawa
taki@tenugui.co.jp
http://www.tenugui.co.jp/