Echigo-jofu (越後上布) is a fabric of Echigo, Japan on national Important Cultural Properties listing in 1955,[1][2] and UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list since 2009.
[a] After it is woven on a jibata backstrap loom (地機), the fabric is spread on snowfields (yuki-zarashi) where ultraviolet light from the sun creates ozone and bleaches it white.
[5][6] Echigo-jofu has even been found in the Shōsōin repository from over 1,200 years ago.
[7] The production of Echigo-jofu is recorded in detail in Hokuetsu Seppu, the encyclopedic work of human geography describing life in the Uonuma area.
[7] The fabric is used to make summer kimono and other traditional garments, cushions and bed linens.