Kasuri

It is a form of ikat dyeing, traditionally resulting in patterns characterized by their blurred or brushed appearance.

When woven together, the undyed areas interlace to form patterns, with many variations – including highly pictographic and multi-colored results – possible to achieve.

After the invasion of the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1609, kasuri techniques entered southern Japan and had moved northwards to the Nara area of Honshu by 1750.

[6] Increases in production continued until the 1930s, when the national government outsourced it to the new colonies, shipping pre-dyed threads abroad, where labour was cheaper.

Forced labour was used; in 1928, 54% of Japan's ikat weaving was done by unpaid prisoners in China and Korea.

A display table showing a number of different indigo-dyed kasuri fabrics, some stacked on wooden stands in roll-form, others displayed flat in front of the rolls, and some hanging on small stands.
Iyo-kasuri fabric, along with kurume- and bingo-kasuri , the three main varieties of kasuri in Japan
Simple kon gasuri patterns, 19th century
A piece of kasuri with a woven design of plovers and stylised waves on a dark indigo blue-green background. The waves are woven in both white and brown, and the plovers are woven in a mixture of white, brown and pink.
Kasuri fragment from an early-20th century kimono using the e-gasuri ( lit. ' picture kasuri ' ) technique to create a picture of plovers. This is also an example of iro gasuri ( lit. ' colour kasuri ' ), in that it uses several colors.
Complex kasuri pattern, tate-yoko gasuri , first half of 20th century