Thread spinning, bundling, dyeing, weaving
The life of a craftsman

Yumigahama in Tottori prefecture, a sand-filled piece of land connecting Sakaiminato to Yonago. In the mid-Edo period, the region was known as a producer of hakushu cotton, and thanks to the efforts of the farmers living in the area, a unique Yumihamagasuri (indigo dye cotton fabric) was developed. The craft is connected to the villagers, and with the features of egasuri fabric (despite its plain and inauspicious origins), Yumihamagasuri is counted as one of the three egasuri fabrics alongside kurayoshigasuri and hirosegasuri. Moving into the Showa era, the textile industry advanced into an age of mass production and mechanization, and yumihamagasuri was slowly left behind. However, though small, the old traditional techniques of the generation have been passed down from generation to generation.

The process for making yumihamagasuri starts with the spinning of the thread. Though weaving machines are often used for this process, it is said that manually spinning the thread by hand produces an unmatched texture. In order to weave the pattern, the spun thread then moves into the indigo and white dying process. Before dyeing, base kukuri (knotting) preparation is required to keep the white portions. This is a very important task, and with a firm knot, the kasuri can be woven even with one’s eyes closed. The enclosed thread is dyed indigo, and the fiber becomes highly resistant to friction. With fine adjustments made by the weaver, the thread becomes a beautiful cloth. Repeated detailed processing is repeated in order to create the contrasts in the fabric. In order to maintain this manual craft, a program for training young people was implemented at the Yumigahamasuri Traditional Center”with the support of Yonago and Sakaiminato city. Despite the lopsided difference between the two, the skilled veterans and fresh newcomers work intensely, learnig from other another. What comes across through this relationship is that everyone has a strong desire for more people to learn about yumihamagasuri.