Indigo Dyeing at Aizumucho Historical Mesuem Sonali Dutta (Tokushima) T. Harris (Saitama) Most, if not all of us, have a staple pair of blue jeans in our wardrobe. Did you ever wonder where that distinctive inky hue came from? Indigo is an ancient dye made from a plant known as “sukumo” in Japanese. Tokushima prefecture in Shikoku boasts a unique museum featuring the history and craft of indigo fabric dyeing.
wall-hangings. The older textiles are remarkably well-preserved and still bright in colour, perhaps due to indigo`s insect-deterring properties. The kimonos in particular have intricate detailing including embroidery. You can really sense the labour and time that had gone into creating these items.
Tokushima has produced indigo, known as “Awa Ai” (“Awa” is the old name for Tokushima and “Ai” is the word for indigo), since the Edo period. There is even a nearby town in Tokushima called “Aizumi” which was named after the town’s indigo production, as the “zumi” part means “to live”. Tokushima is especially suited for cultivating indigo plants due to the climate, soil quality and plentiful water from rivers. Dye production has greatly benefitted and shaped Tokushima`s economy and culture. In Tokushima, you can also have a go creating indigo-dyed items yourself. The museum is about a 30-minute bus ride from Tokushima station and entry is 300 yen for adults.
The museum also has small models that show the process of growing and cultivating indigo plants as well as the method of dyeing. Sukumo leaves are locally grown, harvested and dried. They are then fermented for a few months to create the materials for dye with its characteristic blue colour. It’s a long process that can take around a year and it was cool to see how much work goes into each stage of dye production. You can also see the tools needed to create indigo-dyed items.
When entering the museum, you can see a few indigo-dyed textiles including kimonos and various
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All photos provided by Sonali Dutta
We also had the opportunity to tour the house and workshop of an indigo merchant who used to live on the grounds of what is now the museum. The buildings date from around the early 1800s. It was interesting to see a historic house of someone who was wealthy as it was much bigger