The Higeta indigo dyeing workshop was founded in Mashiko over 200 years ago. Tadashi Higeta, a master dyer and weaver and the 9th generation at the workshop, lives on the premises in a thatched-roof building that was built in the mid-1800s.
Tadashi Higeta in his workshop
Higeta Indigo Workshop
When the workshop began there were indigo dyeing studios all over Japan. Most Japanese clothing at that time was dyed with indigo. Very few of these workshops still remain. Mr. Higeta is involved in the whole process of producing indigo-dyed fabric. He grows the cotton, makes the dyes from indigo leaves, dyes fabric using several different methods, spins and dyes thread and weaves it into fabric.
Cotton grown by Mr. Higeta to be used in making fabric
Mr. Higeta dyes fabric in vats set into the workshop's dirt floor.
Thread is dyed in the workshop, then woven into fabric.
Mr. Higeta's loom
Mr. Higeta has 72 dyeing vats in his workshop where he makes and uses about 30 different shades of indigo dye from a light sky blue to a deep navy. A concentrate made from indigo leaves is fermented in a solution of ash lye, lime and sake. The vats are kept at a temperature of between 25 an 30 degrees Celsius depending on the stage of fermentation. Among the vats in the floor are holes where straw and wood scraps are burned to keep the temperature constant.
Dye vats in Higeta workshop
Dye vat and covered fire pit
Indigo-dyed fabric is made in several different ways in Mr. Higeta’s workshop. Here are a few:
Ito-zome
1. Ito-zome In this process the thread is dyed and then woven into cloth.
2. Shibori-zome: In this method thread is used to tie resist patterns into the fabric, which is then dipped into vats of dye. When the thread is removed the pattern remains in the original color of the fabric.
Shibori-zome dyed fabric drying outside Higeta studio
3. Kata-zome: Stencils or pattern sheets are cut from washi—traditional handmade Japanese paper—and coated with persimmon juice to make them strong and waterproof. Some of the stencils in Mr. Higeta’s shop are well over 100 years old. A resist made of rice paste is applied to the cloth through the stencil. After the paste has dried the fabric is dipped into a dye bath and allowed to dry several times until the desired deep blue color is reached. The resist is then washed away with ash lye.
Stencils for Kata-zome
White fabric with rice paste applied through stencil