Yuzen Dyeing at Marumasu Nishimuraya

One of the traditional crafts most closely associated with Kyoto is textile dyeing using the yuzen, or paste resist method. In yuzen dyeing, rice paste is applied to fabrics in whatever pattern is desired. When the cloth is dyed, the areas treated with the paste resist the dye and only untreated areas take the color. The paste can then be removed and reapplied for subsequent dyeing in different colors, the final pattern being as simple or complex as desire and skill allow.

Kyoto was an aristocratic city, and the yuzen method arose out of a desire on the part of commoners to wear fabrics like those worn by nobles and courtiers. Law forbade the rabble from wearing the rich brocades of the court, and even without these laws such garments would have been impossibly expensive for most citizens. But as craftsmen developed the new dyeing method, carefully applying the paste by hand with squeeze cones, they were able to achieve designs of a complexity and beauty that rivaled even the finest fabrics at court.

Despite its origins as an affordable imitation, today traditional yuzen dyed fabrics are astronomically priced. Stencil dyed fabrics are more manageable for most budgets, and at a number of places around Kyoto, customers are free to try their own hand at basic dyeing after some brief instruction. Even with no prior experience, the results can be surprisingly lovely, and make a wonderful gift or souvenir of your time in the city.

Matt Mangham

Marumasu Nishimuraya: Ogawa Oike-sagaru Nakagyoku, Kyoto

JR Kyoto station===(City bus No.9, or 50, 15min.)====Horikawa Oike ===(On foot, 5min.)===Marumasu Nishimuraya

Open Hours:
9:00 - 17:00

Marumasu Nishimuraya: http://kyo-komachi.com/koubou/english.html