Crafts

Besides Japan cities and villages, it is no exaggeration to say that a century ago, every household had at least one job. Young women learned weaving or mothers and grandmothers or mothers-in-law. This means that textiles were a main part of daily life in Japan, and this condition has lasted, in part, until the middle of this century. Simply put, Japan is a country textiles.

There are four main fibres used in textiles Japanese: hemp, ramie, cotton and silk. The hemp and ramie are the main fibre the town until the cotton-growing has spread to the 18th century. In eastern Japan, the two fibres are still more common later the beginning of the 19th century.

The hemp and ramie are both excellent for the summer, but this is not really adapted to cold winters and not really comfortable on the skin, except in the most sultry weather. Ramie is not well known in the West is a garden of weeds (known as Choma or karamushi) of a large intrusive force that can grow almost anywhere. Ramie fabric resembles hemp at its best. In more remote areas of northern Japan, bast fibers such as paper mulberry fiber, fibre tree bark, glycine and were also woven fabric, but these fibers, but we believe picturesque today are frying, cold, and quite uncomfortable for clothing. The banana fiber used in Okinawa receives much attention today, but also, is alone in a tropical heaven, not in a country winter.