Kurume kasuri was founded around 1800 when a 12- to 13-year-old girl named Inoue Den invented a method of weaving patterns by dyeing different threads before weaving cotton fabric, which became explosively popular.
The name "kasuri" is said to have come to mean "kasuri" in Japanese because of the blurred texture caused by subtle errors in the weaving process. The fine, yet simple and warm kasuri patterns are available in a wide variety of patterns, from small, medium, and large patterns to pictured kasuri.
The patterns created by the warp and weft threads are exquisite and beautiful, and the simple texture unique to cotton is a gem that tells of the romance of the ancient times.
Kurume City boasts a lush and beautiful natural landscape with the Chikugo River, the largest river in Kyushu, running through the city from northeast to west, and the Minoh Mountain Range, which rises like a folding screen in the east, along with the vast and fertile Chikugo Plain.
During the Edo period (1603-1867), Kurume was a castle town of the Arima family, and after the modern era, it developed from a town of Kurume Kasuri (patterned fabric) to a town of rubber industry.
A variety of festivals and events are held in the four seasons, such as "Oniyo" at Daizenji Tamadaru Shrine, one of the three major fire festivals in Japan, and "Kurume Azalea March," one of the three major marches in Japan.
Please consider commemorative gifts using“Kurume Kasuri”.
We accept a variety of requests,
including letterhead sets and Japanese paper accessories,
as well as items such as the souvenir example.
Kurume Kasuri was born around 1800 as the brainchild of a girl named Den Inoue (1788-1869), who was 12 or 13 years old at the time. Den had been weaving cotton since she was 7 or 8 years old, and by the time she was 12 or 13 years old, she was so skillful that even adults could not match her skill as a weaver. One day, Den noticed a white spot on a faded piece of worn cotton weaving.
Noticing this, Den immediately unraveled the cloth and tried to see if she could create a similar speckled pattern using the white part of the unraveled thread as a guide. He then tied the thread with another thread, dyed the tied thread with indigo, unraveled the tied thread, and wove it on a loom. This is said to be the origin of Kurume kasuri, and Den named this textile "kasuri.
This textile was well received by the public and attracted many disciples. By the time he was 40 years old, he had as many as 1,000 apprentices, 400 of whom scattered around the country to start their own textile businesses.
At this point, Kurume kasuri production had moved from being the hobby of an individual to a self-employed group whose purpose was to manufacture and sell kasuri, or in other words, the Kurume kasuri industry.
In the Chikugo region centered on Kurume, Kurume-gasuri was actively woven as a side job for farmers, and after the Meiji era (1868-1912), Kurume-gasuri became popular throughout the country as clothing for the common people. Its historical and artistic value has been highly evaluated, and in 1957 it was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan.
Kurume kasuri fits into a wide range of lifestyles, including Japanese and Western-style clothing, interior design, and miscellaneous goods, and is still popular among many people as one of Japan's representative fabrics.
Please consider commemorative gifts using“Kurume Kasuri”.
We accept a variety of requests,
including letterhead sets and Japanese paper accessories,
as well as items such as the souvenir example.
