Some no Komichi Festival

Some no Komichi Traditional Fabric Dyeing Festival Nakai Shinjuku Tokyo 染の小道 中井 新宿 東京

• Commuter Crossing
• Traditional Neighborhood
• Some no Komichi Festival
• Futaba-en Company
• Musashikuni Mugaikai
• Hayashi Fumiko Memorial Museum
• Access & Information
• Japanese Festivals

Johannes Schonherr

Woman in kimono on a bridge over the decorated Myoshoji River, Some no Komichi Festival, Nakai, Tokyo

The neighborhoods of Nakai and Ochiai in western Shinjuku are traditionally known as a center for the dyeing of fabrics, especially fabrics used for the tailoring of kimono.

From the Edo Period (1603-1868) on, many craftsmen and their workshops concentrated in the area, employing its ample supply of clean water.

They did not only dye the cloth, though, they also created the often colorful patterns and printed them, using skillful dyeing techniques, into the fabrics.

The river flowing through this area of Tokyo, the Myoshoji River, was used up until the 1960's for rinsing the freshly dyed cloth.

Today, the Some no Komichi Festival, held on the last weekend of February, celebrates this heritage in very colorful ways. For a length of 300 meters, long strips of patterned cloth are hung over the river, more than 100 local businesses display custom-made noren curtains outside their doors to announce their participation in the festival.

Colorfully dyed cloth hanged over the Myoshoji River, Some no Komichi Festival, Nakai, Tokyo

Izakaya bar with festival noren curtains out front, Some no Komichi Festival, Nakai, Tokyo

Commuter Crossing

On an average day, Nakai is mostly known as a commuter transfer area.

The local trains of the Seibu Shinjuku / Seibu Haijima Lines, starting out at Seibu Shinjuku Station, make a stop at Nakai Station.

The Seibu Shinjuku Line continues on to Hon Kawagoe Station in historic Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture; the Seibu Haijima Line terminates close to Tachikawa in western Tokyo.

It is mostly the people inbound in the morning and outbound in the evening who make a transfer at Nakai. From Nakai Station on the Seibu lines, it is only a two minute walk to the Nakai Station on the Oedo Subway Line, connecting to Roppongi, Tsukiji and other inner-city Tokyo areas.

It is somewhat inconvenient that only local Seibu trains stop at Nakai Station but still, the Nakai transfer is a popular shortcut to many destinations within Tokyo for commuters from the western suburbs.

Dyed cloths in the wind, Some no Komichi Festival, Nakai, Tokyo

Flute player at the Some no Komichi Festival, Kami Ochiai, Tokyo

Traditional Neighborhood

On their short walk between the two stations, the passengers cross the Myoshoji River and walk along a short section of Nakai Ekimae Dori Street, a narrow street mostly lined with businesses geared towards the potential customers walking by. Cars do drive on the street but there are very few of them. Pedestrians dominate.

There are no fast food chain outlets. Instead, the restaurants and izakaya bars along that strip of the street offer the opportunity for a drink or two for departing coworkers. They offer reasonably priced food, there are sweets shops and bakeries to buy some little things for the families out in the suburbs.

In short, despite all the pedestrian commuter traffic, Nakai still has the feel of a very traditional Tokyo neighborhood.

Kimono-clad operator of a kimono rental shop, Kami Ochiai, Tokyo

Curtains at the Futaba-en, Kami Ochiai, Tokyo

Some no Komichi Festival

On the last weekend in February, the Some no Komichi festival celebrates the tradition of the area as a center for fabric dyeing.

Right outside the exit of Nakai Station on the Seibu Line, visitors find an information desk staffed with volunteers. Pick up a free festival map. The map marks all institutions, galleries, stores and restaurants participating in the festival. It also marks a short and a long neighborhood walking tour. The map is largely in Japanese but it features some brief explanations in English.

The Myoshoji River flows by right next to Seibu Line Nakai Station. For a stretch of about 300 meters, colorfully dyed cloths are hung above the river.

From Nakai Station, the River Gallery, as the cloth display is called, extends in two directions: to the right it crosses below the massive Yamanote Dori Road overpass, to the left it extends into the quiet neighborhood of Kami Ochiai.

A walkway follows the river. Most of the business along that walkway, small restaurants, izakaya, art galleries etc, have their festival noren curtains out, announcing their participation in the festival. Street vendors offer small hand-dyed cloth products like purses, bags, scarves and the like.

Many women but also some men can be seen wearing traditional kimonos, adding greatly to the scenery.

After a stroll along the river, it is best to consult the festival map again and to decide which of the marked attractions to explore more in depth.

The local schools are open to the public at the time of the festival, they offer fabric exhibitions as well as dyeing workshops.

A great number of art galleries offer hand-dyed noren curtains for sale. The map indicates all of them. Perhaps a good opportunity to buy a noren as a gift for someone who had just moved into a new home?

But then, it might be just as well to fold up the map and simply drift through the area. Surprises are to be encountered a plenty.

Sales lady at Futaba-en, Kami Ochiai, Tokyo

Futaba-en

That is how I stumbled onto the Some no Sato Futaba-en deep in Kami Ochiai but still in close walking distance from Nakai Station.

It had a traditional looking wooden gate, festival flags fluttered in front of it. So I went in.

Some no Sato translates as Home of Dyeing, Futaba-en is the name of the company running it.

The Futaba-en company was founded in 1920 and has since strived for the continuation and preservation of the old Edo dyeing traditions.

The company has faced great difficulties in the course of its history, mainly caused by the Westernization of Japanese attire which led to a severe drop in customers. Their small factory was burned to the ground in an American bombing raid towards the end of World War II along with most of Nakai and Ochiai. Still, the company always bounced back.

Today, the Futaba-en company, an entirely family-run business, operates a dyeing workshop right on the bank of the Myoshoji River. Here it produces and sells top class dyed cloth, and offers workshops to learn the various dying techniques.

The Some no Sato Futaba-en is open for visitors throughout the year. The Some no Komichi Festival, however, provides it with a particular exposure to interested visitors outside specialist circles.

The English language website of the Futaba-en is: www.futaba-en.jp/en

Lesson at the Musashikuni Mugaikai Sword Fighting School, Kami Ochiai, Tokyo

Noren curtain outside the Hayashi Fumiko Memorial Museum. The Fumiko Hayashi signature poem on display reads in rough translation "The life of a flower is short. There are many sufferings. But sometimes the wind blows. Sometimes the clouds too are shining."

Musashikuni Mugaikai Sword Fighting School

Only a two minute walk away from the Futaba-en is the Musashikuni Mugaikai Sword Fighting School.

The school offers serious training as well as short-term teachings on the handling of the katana, the traditional samurai sword.

Such training can be booked and witnessed during the Some no Komichi Festival. At the time of my visit, a student guided by her teacher, clad in traditional samurai garb, made first attempts in the art of tameshigiri (sword testing), cutting through a rolled up goza tatami mat with a single stroke of the sword.

Real masters can slice up the tight rice straw roll three times in a swift, single go. The amateur who had signed up for a special one day class during the festival just hacked into the straw.

Still, the school got its message out: if you are interested in the traditional art of Japanese sword fighting, study at the Musashikuni Mugaikai.

Musashikuni Mugaikai Sword Fighting School website in Japanese: www.iai-shizan.jp

Hayashi Fumiko Memorial Museum

On the opposite end of the Some no Komichi Festival area, northwest of Seibu Nakai Station, you find the Hayashi Fumiko Memorial Museum. It is also part of the festival and is located in the former residence of free spirited / social realist writer Fumiko Hayashi (1903-1951).

Born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hayashi is perhaps most famous for her 1930 novel Horoki (Diary of a Vagabond), based on her early days in Tokyo when she was living with a lover and supporting herself with jobs as maid, waitress and factory worker, among others. The novel was turned into a 1962 movie with the same title by Japanese director Mikio Naruse. The film became a classic of Japanese cinema. 

Opening times: daily from 10 am to 4.30 pm, closed on Monday. If Monday is a public holiday, the museum will close the following day. Closed over the New Year Holidays (December 29th to January 3rd).

Admission: Adults 150 yen (80 yen during the Some no Komichi Festival), children 50 yen, during the festival 30 yen)

Tel: 03 5996 9207

Address: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Nakai 2-20-1

Website of the Hayashi Fumiko Memorial Museum (in Japanese)

Dyed cloth in the wind, Some no Komichi Festival, Tokyo

Some no Komichi Festival Information & Access

Access: Nakai Station of the Oedo Subway Line or Nakai Station on the Seibu Shinjuku / Seibu Haijima Lines. Only local Seibu trains stop at Nakai.

Festival time: held on the last weekend of February

River Gallery: from around 10 am to around 4 pm. At about 4 pm, the colorful cloth strips are taken down, they are hung up again the next morning.

Festival website in Japanese and partly in English www.somenokomichi.com

Street vendor in kimono, Some no Komichi Festival

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