I designed Kamon (family crest) for Boston Kimono festival printed by the Japanese craftsman, Mr. Sugishita. The Kamon design was used for tenugui.
The tenugui celebrates the friendship between Kyoto and Boston.
I used Cherry blossoms, a symbol of Japan, and the mayflower, a symbol of Massachusetts, in a single intertwined kamon, or familial emblem.
ボストン着物フェスティバルさんの家紋デザインを担当しました。デザインされた家紋は、京都の印染職人である杉下さんの手によって、てぬぐいや法被に鮮やかに染めていただきました。
家紋デザインには、日本の国花である桜と、マサチューセッツの州花であるメイフラワーを使用し、比翼紋にして、京都とボストンとの友好関係を表しました。
Shirushi-zome is the technique the traditional dyeing technique to dye characters, crests, marks, etc. peculiar to textiles.
Going back to the Heian period, the family crest was originally marked by the aristocrats at that time to mark the ox cart, and it is attached to show one's attributes as a mark to identify the enemy and ally in the battlefield, and to establish the individuals. It is said that the beginning of Shirushi is the dyeing of "marks" on flags and banners.
In Edo era, most cotton textiles are depended on self-production at home. And a specialized supplier did for the dyeing of a thread and the cloth. Therefore there was “the dyer” who was a specialized supplier of the dyeing in a town and the village by all means. In the big city, a lot of dye houses gathered in the place where the use of the water and the procurement of dyeing materials were easy. In the town, there are name called “Konnyacho” or “a dyer town”, it seems with the trace from old city. When kimono culture faded out with the change of the times, many dyehouses changed a scale and a business style.
Dyeing craftsmen dye a variety of patterns, from large patterns such as coats of arms to detailed patterns such as family crests. Unlike kimono dyeing, it dyes a wide area with one color, so bleeding and unevenness are likely to occur, and it is said that it is difficult to dye evenly.
印染（しるしぞめ）とは、織物に特有の文字や紋、印などを染める伝統的な染色技法です。戦場で敵味方を識別し、個体を確定する目”印”として自分の属性を示すために付けられます。紋章の始まりは、のぼりや幟の「印」を染めたのが始まりと言われています。糸と生地の染色は専門業者が行い、町や村には染色の専門業者である「染物屋」がありました。大都市では、水の利用や染色材料の調達が容易な場所に多くの染色家が集まっていました。
時代の変化とともに着物文化が衰退すると、多くの染屋が規模や業態を変えていきました。紋章などの大柄から家紋などの細かい柄まで、さまざまな柄を染める職人。着物染めとは異なり、一色で広い面積を染めるため、にじみやムラが生じやすく、均一に染めるのが難しいと言われています。
Thank you❤️
