Takatora: Edo Wordplay On Japanese Textiles

23 Apr 2007 Category: Arts & Crafts, Fashion, Features, Japan, Products

Today, we bring up some more interesting people that bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary Japan: Takatora, a workshop and store located in Tokyo’s eastern Hamacho neighborhood, dates back to a time when artisan workshops lined the streets of the city. The proprietor, Mr. Takahashi, makes all kinds of traditional things, like the Noren curtains that hang in front of restaurants and the short Happi coats you can see worn during festivals. However, his most popular and well-known items are bags featuring designs evoking the symbolism and wordplay of the traditional Edo era. For the first time, Mr. Takahashi describes for English readers how he carries on this tradition and bag craft today.

Written by Rebecca Milner

The wonder of the Edo period is that everyday objects could be made beautiful.

Mr. Takahashi

From Edo until today: preserving Japanese tradition

Mr. Takahashi, now 69, started working when he was 15 and eventually inherited the family business from his father, who inherited it from his father. Further back the family history gets lost somewhere en route to Edo, where new arrivals were quick to shed their country roots in favor of adopting an Edo lifestyle.

These days, the Takatora shop is one of the last of its kind, which makes Mr. Takahashi a little bit of a celebrity. Speaking of which: just on this April his workshop was featured on NHK, the national Japanese TV, that showcased stylish Edo-esque designs. Though he has also appeared on the pages of Japanese magazines, he was never featured in English media before!

Now to get you an idea about his simple everyday inspirations that are quite effective: Mr. Takahashi’s traditional designs are encouraged by his own lifestyle which includes “looking at the cherry blossoms in the park, listening to the traditional Shamisen instrument, reading Haiku poetry, joking, and playing around.”

Adjusting the bag design for nowaday’s needs

Mr. Takahashi models his bags after the ones originally carried by workers of the Edo era. They are suitable for men, women, young, and old. Though we can not not dig deeper into that right now, it seems that in Japan, there is a long tradition of people carrying bags. That certainly makes sense, since you cannot really store big or bulky things in your Kimono sleeves…

While Mr. Takahashi’s merchandise may be in traditional style, he surely knows the needs of his contemporary customers: some of his bags are identical to the Edo models while others come nowadays in modern shapes, like tote bags with zippers and in sizes appropriate for carrying a Ketai (mobile phone), a digital camera, or a bottle of water.

With seams or without: it’s all about the material

While most of the materials come from a manufacturer in Hiroshima, the process of sewing, dyeing, designing, and printing is done in-house in the workshop on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the store. Six people perform the different stages, although Mr. Takahashi does the designing and oversees the production. These days his workshop is only active when a customer makes a special order.

In Edo times, bags were made from super strong hemp and woven into a tube, so that there were no side seams. This style would be ideal for carrying something like rice, which could easily slip through or get stuck in the seams. Authentic Obi, as well as socks, were also made in this hose-like fashion. These days, however, few textile manufacturers have the equipment for making tube-shaped material so it is quite expensive to produce - especially since it is hemp. Mr. Takahashi still makes a few bags in this authentic style, but because of the higher price of precisely ¥16,800 (roughly 140 US $) he doesn’t have many customers for them. Instead, he offers cotton bags with side seams, which sell from ¥ 2,100 (about 17 US $).

Colors and techniques

The bags come in two colors: a warm brown created from a persimmon-based dye and a deep Japanese indigo. Each bag is unique. Even if the design on the front is the same, the lining pattern will be different. This was the case during the Edo period, he explained: “You could be sure that you were the only one in Tokyo carrying that bag. Nobody could get away with stealing!”

Stencil and ink

He makes the stencils with thick, durable Washi, the traditional Japanese paper used in arts and crafts, and a craft knife. The blade of an old-fashioned craft knife runs throughout the inside of the tool, as opposed to modern ones with have replaceable blades at the tip.

For other items, such as handkerchiefs, he uses a few different dyeing techniques:

The cheapest and easiest would be printing. The design is uniform throughout and appears on only one side of the fabric. Another method would be using a stencil which also produces an exact pattern, but results in color on both sides of the fabric.
Then, applying the dye by hand is the most expensive and time consuming. In the case of this pattern, the fabric is folded accordion style and a dye-soaked string is threaded through the fabric. The result is slightly irregular, but “it has atmosphere,” as Mr. Takahashi likes to add. This is the most prized version.

Stencil techniques

For most of his colorful handkerchiefs, Noren curtains, and banners Mr. Takahashi uses a stencil adhered to netting. Through the stencil he applies a paste to the fabric that will resist dye. When the stencil is lifted away, dye is poured over the fabric in the appropriate places. Eventually the paste is washed away, leaving behind white - or the original color of the fabric. So whereas most stencils portray a negative image of the intended picture, these stencils show the true image.

Simple stencils without many fine lines can be made in less than an hour and last for years. On the other hand, complicated ones can take days and last less than a year. This complicated fish stencil took three days to make!

The stories behind the motifs

While the designs are certainly impressive, they are more than just pretty pictures: each one displays a symbolism and wordplay that would be immediately apparent to anyone living an Edo lifestyle - or simply having a bit of an interest in Japanese history and culture. Mostly, they are meant to be humorous. Many of the symbols come from Kabuki since, as Mr. Takahashi explains, watching Kabuki was part of the Edo lifestyle.

Still others employ a kind of word play that take advantage of the different ways of reading Japanese characters or taking two very different characters with the same reading but an entirely different meaning. Some designs incorporate a little bit of everything.

With this bag it is necessary to know that saying “dragonfly” and “circle” in Japanese translates into “tonbo to maru.” If you say it fast it can sound like “tonbo tomaru,” which means “the dragonfly alights.” It is good luck if a dragon fly lands on you - so this bag should bring you luck!

Sometimes Mr. Takahashi gets customers who don’t speak enough Japanese to understand his designs. For them he has created a print called “No Sumo King,” pictured above. On the picture is the name of a Sumo wrestler who didn’t make it to the top, but even if you can’t read that you can get the joke.

Thank you Mr. Takahashi for sharing your knowledge and experience with us! If you want to learn more, please visit him at his shop in Hamacho. He would be happy to talk to you!

Address: Takatora Baiten, 2-45-6 Hamacho Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku Tokyo, Phone: 03-3666-5562, Open Mon thru Fr: 9:00 - 18:00

To visit the lovely Takatora, take exit A2 from Hamacho station on the Shinjuku subway line. Turn around and walk down the green path to Hamacho Park. Take a right on the road in front of the park and continue for two blocks. Takatora will be on your right then.

10 Comments

1. Interesting as usual

   Posted by: Mads on April 23rd, 2007 at 8:53 pm

2. I don’t know young people will like the color or not. for me, I think the bag color is more suitable for old people:)

   Posted by: keanu on April 24th, 2007 at 11:51 am

3. I like the rustic feel to the bags but maybe its not solely for old people. I saw some modern designs in Tokyo which looked like they are derived from such traditional bags.

   Posted by: Edmond on April 24th, 2007 at 3:07 pm

4. Wonderful colour on my opinion. Rustic, old, trustworthy. Great, beautiful and simple design flatters that material and looks esthetic.

   Posted by: Vulture on April 24th, 2007 at 6:38 pm

5. Now the trend : Old is new~
   In my opinion, vivid color maybe fantastic for visual experience, but not always equal to Fashion.

   Posted by: tunokuda on April 24th, 2007 at 7:12 pm

6. Articles like this remind me why I love Pingmag! The sensitivity and sense of wonder for art and craft, old and new always gives me a big smile and a warm feeling.

   Posted by: Clay on April 29th, 2007 at 5:30 am

7. those bags are really beautifull, and i don’t think that the price is so high. i’d like to buy it? is it possible to do it from italy.
   thanks for your tips, anyway

   Posted by: giusto(salerno-italy) on June 1st, 2007 at 7:43 pm

8. The persimmon and indigo dyed fabrics are ageless and beautiful,so beautiful.What an honor to read about his fine craftsman who has spent nearly his entire life creating these functional and perfect bags.Aloha from Hawaii, Emma Howard

   Posted by: Emma Howard on August 5th, 2007 at 3:35 am

9. Does anyone know where I can find contemporary modern japanese designers working with katagome stencils using now technology? Thanks this site is really inspirational

   Luci:)

   Posted by: luci on August 17th, 2007 at 12:17 am

10. lol i rule

    Posted by: jack on November 26th, 2007 at 7:28 pm

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