Embroider delicate designs stitch by stitch

Founded in 1968 in Suginami City, Tokyo, Takahashi Shishuten specializes in embroidering Japanese clothing. The shop is run by the three members of the same family, the mother and her two daughters. Yuko Saito, the eldest daughter, and Asami Endo, the second daughter, started working in the family business after the death of their father, former president, although they had previously helped their parents run the shop while raising their children and working as company employees until then.

Takahashi Shishuten owns thousands of paper patterns. The designs are cut into the paper without making a design on fabric. A cut paper pattern is placed on fabric, and the pattern is transferred onto to the material by applying whitewash. The design is then embroidered based on the whitewash marks. This is done to avoid damaging or deforming the fabric by making a design on it. They think that the paper patterns that have been made since the former president are the assets of the studio.

Edo Shishu is characterized by the soft finish that can only be achieved by hand embroidery and the beautiful sheen that is unique to silk and that changes when viewed from different angles. The thickness of the threads changes depending on what the artisan wants to represent or express with the embroidery, and new colors are created by combining different threads. Although they do not have the opportunity to meet the customers personally because they mainly take orders from kimono stores, the artisans decide on the color combinations by based on the look and feel of the kimono and age of the customer. Many customers love their work and place repeat orders. To them, each piece of embroidery is their work. They invest time and effort to create intricate, delicate work stitch by stitch.

Takahashi Shishuten
Yuko Saito, Asami Endo
166-0015 1-47-16, Narita Higashi, Suginami-ku,Tokyo
Tel & Fax: +81-(0)3-3315-6496
3takahashi.shishuten@gmail.com