Some no Komichi 染めの小道
Thousands of fabrics
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The Kimono Dyeing Festival in Tokyo
Organized every year in the Nakai district north of Shinjuku, Some no Komichi is a festival that will delight lovers of beautiful fabrics. And for good reason, with its dozens of tinted pieces floating above the Myoshoji River, it showcases the know-how of the district's master sinterers! A bucolic spectacle, which harkens back to the time when Tokyo was one of the three largest kimono-dyeing centers in Japan.
Nakai, the dye district
Very popular under Edo (1603-1868) for the work of its craftsmen, Nakai is a small district still marked by its glorious past. Kimono shops, museums, dyeing workshops, this district of Tokyo is still famous today for the beauty of its fabrics .
It must be said that its history is closely linked to that of Japanese dyeing!
As cotton garments began to replace silk kimonos after World War II , enthusiasts of traditional fabrics strove to rebuild workshops in the capital that had been destroyed in the bombings. And it is in Nakai that most of them have taken up residence.
- Read also : Kyô Yuzen, the dyeing of fabrics
The traditional art of dyeing
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Located between the Kanda River and the Myoshoji River, Nakai is a prime spot for master dyers who can take advantage of the city's currents to rinse their freshly dyed fabrics.
A habit that remained rooted in the profession until late, since it was still possible in the 1960s to see craftsmen working along the Myoshoji River.
Today, the soul of the district still lives on in the colors of the dye. And although most of the 300 workshops that occupied the closed space, some descendants of this delicate art have succeeded in preserving this ancestral know-how. A know-how that they expose to everyone's eyes at the end of February, during the Someno Komichi .
14-meter fabrics suspended along the Myoshoji River
In order to pay homage to the art which gave it its letters of nobility, Nakai saw things in a big way.
For 3 days during the last weekend of February (Friday to Sunday), more than 50 fabrics 14 meters long are suspended above the Myoshoji River! Shades of color, which then come to brighten up the district paled by the arrival of winter.
- Read also : Top activities to do in winter in Japan
The Myoshoji River is full of fabrics!
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The beautification of the latter continues on the banks where pretty works of art placed at the water's edge add their touch of color to the decor, as do the noren (fabric panels present above the doors of the signs ) stores specially designed for the occasion.
Shops in the Nakai district don their finest noren
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Finally, it should be noted that budding artists can also try their hand at dyeing, since several small workshops are organized for visitors to the Nakai primary school and to the Some-no-Sato Futaba-en dyeing museum .
For only a few yen, you can then leave with your own creation , a small handkerchief made from stencils and ink. Artistic souls, let yourself be tempted!
Let your creative spirit speak!
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Address, timetable & access
Address
Timetable
a few meters from Nakai station (Oedo, Seibu-Shinjuku lines)Access
the last weekend of February (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)Website
http://www.somenokomichi.com/
