Chichibu Meisen: The Modern Silk Fabric that Defined the Taisho and Showa Eras

Could you tell us how Arakei Textile was founded?

Arakei Textile was founded in 1970. After finishing elementary school, my father began working at a weaving mill, known as a *hataya*, and later became independent to produce his own textiles.

Chichibu Meisen was once a major industry and a source of pride for Chichibu. Back then, it was a true textile town, where about 70% of the local population made a living in the weaving industry, a world referred to as *ito-hen* (literally 'thread radical'). My father often told me that as you walked from Seibu-Chichibu Station to our workshop, the sound of the looms was constant and never faded.

How did Chichibu Meisen come to be?

Originally, Chichibu was a thriving sericulture region where nearly every farmhouse raised silkworms. The best cocoons were shipped off to be sold for cash, but the farmers would take the leftover, unsellable cocoons and spin them into thread during the agricultural off-season. They used this to weave a thick fabric called *futori*, which was the origin of Chichibu Meisen. Its popularity grew from the mid-Edo period onward, fueling the boom in the textile industry.

The pioneering technique for *hogushi-ori* (a resist-dyeing weave), the signature of Chichibu Meisen, was invented in 1908. Technological innovation advanced as Mr. Sotaro Sakamoto, who lives in a town adjacent to Chichibu, obtained a patent. Further developments made it possible to move beyond simple solid colors and plaids to create Chichibu Meisen with the bold, yarn-dyed patterns it's known for today.

Could you explain the process and techniques of Chichibu Meisen, known for its characteristic *hogushi-ori*?

First, we loosely weave the warp threads (*tate-ito*) with temporary weft threads (*yoko-ito*). This creates a sheet of warp threads, onto which we apply the pattern by hand using a stencil dyeing method called *hogushi-nassen*. After dyeing, we painstakingly unravel the temporary weft threads by hand. Then, the final weaving begins, a careful process where we must pay close attention to the tension of the yarn and the sounds coming from the loom.

A key feature of *hogushi-nassen* is that the threads themselves are dyed, meaning the finished fabric is reversible with no front or back. The final appearance can change dramatically depending on the combination of warp and weft, and you can create incredible depth by layering patterns. There's a truly profound appeal that can only be achieved with *hogushi-ori*.

Captivated by Hogushi-ori, I Quit My Job to Become an Artisan

So, you decided to become an artisan after a career in the corporate world.

I grew up in a house where the sound of looms was ever-present. After graduating from a textile vocational school, I joined a textile trading company. I started out as a designer, handling planning and design, but later moved to the trade department, where I handled technical guidance and quality control for textiles in Europe and Asia.

After 15 years on the job, I began to feel a strong desire to return to my family home and take over as a Chichibu Meisen artisan. Having seen countless textiles from overseas, I rediscovered just how magnificent the *hogushi-ori* technique of Chichibu Meisen truly is.

At the time, the textile industry in Chichibu was on a path of steady decline. When I told my father I wanted to take over the family business, he was dead set against it. "Don't do it," he said. "It's unlikely you'll be able to make a living." With four children of my own, I think he was just worried about me. However, I realized it was now or never to learn the techniques directly from my father, who was over 70. So, I took the plunge and decided to take over the family business at the age of 36.

What was your apprenticeship period like?

I believe it takes a good ten years to master any skill, no matter what it is. I returned home with a certain level of resolve.

However, it was much harder than I had ever anticipated. I was completely in the dark. My father, an artisan with 50 years of experience, made every task look effortless. But a process he could finish in two hours would take me two weeks, and even then, I couldn't get it right.

Weaving requires intense concentration, and your skills are honed by the amount of time you spend in the workshop. I worked from morning till night, every single day, including weekends. It was only thanks to my wife's support that we were able to navigate the financially tight years of raising our children.

It sounds like mastering the art of weaving is a monumental task.

On top of that, the stencil dyeing part of the *nassen* printing process was originally divided among different artisans. But as the workforce aged, we were facing a situation where we could no longer produce Chichibu Meisen. So, I added a dyeing workshop to our facility, apprenticed under a master *nassen* dyer, and acquired the dyeing skills myself.

I worked relentlessly, and after about a decade, I felt like I could finally see the path forward. I even began to develop new forms of Chichibu Meisen, innovating on the techniques I inherited from my father.

We're also very particular about our warp and weft threads. After a lot of trial and error, we settled on a supple and exceptionally uniform Brazilian silk yarn, the same kind used in high-end brand scarves. We also repeatedly refined the number of twists in the yarn, which resulted in fewer loom malfunctions and allowed us to create a Chichibu Meisen with excellent durability and a wonderful feel against the skin.

"Creating Something for Future Generations"—Carrying Chichibu Meisen into the Future

── You're also creating products like "Hataoto," which leverage Chichibu Meisen techniques.

When a new hot spring facility was opening in front of Seibu-Chichibu Station, they reached out to me about featuring Chichibu Meisen products. I wanted to create something that would let people casually enjoy the *hogushi-ori* technique, so we decided to develop a line of handkerchiefs.

It's not easy to make kimonos accessible to everyone. But a handkerchief is something that can fit into anyone's daily life. To make the charm of *hogushi-ori* more approachable, I chose patterns and color schemes with a unisex appeal.

The response was fantastic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some people used "Hataoto" fabric to make masks. I even heard from someone who bought several and had them tailored into a blouse.

A project was also born from a local high school class focused on town revitalization through corporate collaborations. The students came up with an idea to introduce Chichibu by adding a QR code to the "Hataoto" handkerchiefs. "Hataoto" has opened up so many wonderful connections for us.

It's wonderful how "Hataoto," a product born from Chichibu Meisen, is contributing to community building.

Next up, we're planning to develop products with the one remaining sericulture farm in Chichibu. A young couple, around my son's age, are the successors, and I want to use their cocoons to spin yarn and weave it into fabric. By collaborating with the local apparel brand REINA IBUKA, I'm hoping to create exquisite rolls of Chichibu Meisen cloth from cocoons produced right here in Chichibu.

Chichibu is home to the famous Chichibu Night Festival. Currently, out of the six neighborhood associations that participate, only three wear Chichibu Meisen kimonos. My goal is to have all the associations wear Chichibu Meisen kimonos made from local Chichibu cocoons during the festival. This way, the festival will help preserve the local industries of sericulture and Chichibu Meisen. I want to help revitalize the region by weaving together its history, culture, and techniques.

With an aging workforce and other challenges, what drives you to keep taking on new challenges every day?

Of course, we face our share of challenges. The demand for kimonos is declining, and our artisans are aging. But every production region is struggling with these same issues. I believe there's no use in simply bemoaning the situation.

All we artisans can do is keep developing new things and continue pouring our hearts into our craft. These skills aren't built overnight. It all comes down to whether or not we can create something that brings joy to people. If we can't manage that, I feel the tradition itself will disappear.

Kimonos are made to last. If you take good care of it, you can even wear a Chichibu Meisen kimono that was woven 100 years ago. But if you're careless, it can be ruined in an instant. My goal is to create pieces that will continue to be loved and cherished long after I'm gone. That's the passion I bring to the loom every single day.