Tenugui dyed with the only technique in Japan
Sakai City in Osaka Prefecture has long prospered as a town of manufacturing, with factories of various industries.It ranks first among ordinance-designated cities in terms of the value of manufactured goods shipped per capita, and is home to small and medium-sized enterprises in a wide range of industries, starting with the manufacture of guns, cutting tools, bicycles, and incense sticks. This town, which has long had a thriving cotton industry, is also known as a major producer of tenugui.
Abundant water resources are indispensable for the production of wazarashi, the base material for tenugui.
For this reason, this land along the Ishizu River has prospered as a production area for tenugui.
In this area, there are not only wasashirashi factories, but also dye factories, weaving factories, and wholesalers, all within walking distance.
Do you know that the value of tenugui is now being reconsidered and is gradually spreading into modern society?
Originally, tenugui were not only used as towels or handkerchiefs in modern times, but they were used in a wide range of situations, such as wrapping them like furoshiki, wearing them as hoods instead of sunshades, and using them as bandages. I was. Compared to ordinary towels, it dries quickly, and the fabric is thin and not bulky.
Mr. Takeno Senko, who was in charge of making the tenugui this time, has a history of more than 70 years of making tenugui using a technique called roll printing.
In the old days, it started with making cloth diapers, pajamas, gauze, etc., and has led to today's tenugui making. Takeno Senko's notable technique is the "double-sided dyeing" of tenugui by roll printing. It's called reversible dyeing.The technique is not so difficult for thick fabrics such as towels, but Takeno Senko is the only company in the world that can dye both sides of thin fabrics such as tenugui. Terada Takashi, the third generation president, was concerned about the decline of the tenugui industry, and in order to widely spread the technology of roll printing, realized double-sided dyeing, which was thought to be impossible. It is surprising that whether or not this double-sided dyeing is possible is not due to differences in machines, but due to differences in techniques between craftsmen.
Roll Nassen is a technique of dyeing using a technique called "intaglio printing", in which a design is carved into a metal plate and dyed like so-called copperplate engraving.
It is called roll Nassen because the ink is picked up by this roll-shaped mold and dyed in Japanese style. The fabric to be dyed is sandwiched between two rolls, one for dyeing the fabric and the other for pressing the dye. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the pressure in addition to simply turning the machine. If it is too strong, the pattern will be crushed, and if it is too weak, it will become faint. As you can see from this photo, roll printing can reproduce even very fine patterns. When doing multi-color printing, this roll will increase to 2 and 3 rolls. A large number of these roll-shaped molds are stored in the factory.
And this is a very important process in roll printing. There is a special blade for neatly scraping off the dye, and each blade is hand-polished by a craftsman every day. If the blade is too sharp, the handle will come out beautifully, but the strength of the blade will be lost, and if it is too dull, vice versa. It takes a long period of training to be able to polish this blade completely before becoming a full-fledged craftsman. It is said that the appearance of the pattern depends on the young and the veteran, and you can see how delicate the work is. 
Here is the tenugui that has been dyed.
There are of course double-sided dyed towels with different colors on the front and back, as well as patterned tenugui that are properly dyed through the back. Not only the dyeing technique, but also the basic Japanese bleaching method has a special point.
One of the features of Tenugui is not only that it is a thin fabric that is easy to carry, but also that the short sides are left unsewn. Originally, it was used as a bandage or as an emergency treatment for the thongs of clogs. Taking advantage of the merits of Japanese bleaching that is easy to use not only for daily use such as towels, but also for going out and outdoor scenes, we have prepared handkerchief-sized tenugui this time. By all means, please try tenugui, which is full of craftsmanship.
Abundant water resources are indispensable for the production of wazarashi, the base material for tenugui.
For this reason, this land along the Ishizu River has prospered as a production area for tenugui.
In this area, there are not only wasashirashi factories, but also dye factories, weaving factories, and wholesalers, all within walking distance.
Do you know that the value of tenugui is now being reconsidered and is gradually spreading into modern society?Originally, tenugui were not only used as towels or handkerchiefs in modern times, but they were used in a wide range of situations, such as wrapping them like furoshiki, wearing them as hoods instead of sunshades, and using them as bandages. I was. Compared to ordinary towels, it dries quickly, and the fabric is thin and not bulky.
Mr. Takeno Senko, who was in charge of making the tenugui this time, has a history of more than 70 years of making tenugui using a technique called roll printing.In the old days, it started with making cloth diapers, pajamas, gauze, etc., and has led to today's tenugui making. Takeno Senko's notable technique is the "double-sided dyeing" of tenugui by roll printing. It's called reversible dyeing.The technique is not so difficult for thick fabrics such as towels, but Takeno Senko is the only company in the world that can dye both sides of thin fabrics such as tenugui. Terada Takashi, the third generation president, was concerned about the decline of the tenugui industry, and in order to widely spread the technology of roll printing, realized double-sided dyeing, which was thought to be impossible. It is surprising that whether or not this double-sided dyeing is possible is not due to differences in machines, but due to differences in techniques between craftsmen.
Roll Nassen is a technique of dyeing using a technique called "intaglio printing", in which a design is carved into a metal plate and dyed like so-called copperplate engraving.It is called roll Nassen because the ink is picked up by this roll-shaped mold and dyed in Japanese style. The fabric to be dyed is sandwiched between two rolls, one for dyeing the fabric and the other for pressing the dye. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the pressure in addition to simply turning the machine. If it is too strong, the pattern will be crushed, and if it is too weak, it will become faint. As you can see from this photo, roll printing can reproduce even very fine patterns. When doing multi-color printing, this roll will increase to 2 and 3 rolls. A large number of these roll-shaped molds are stored in the factory.
And this is a very important process in roll printing. There is a special blade for neatly scraping off the dye, and each blade is hand-polished by a craftsman every day. If the blade is too sharp, the handle will come out beautifully, but the strength of the blade will be lost, and if it is too dull, vice versa. It takes a long period of training to be able to polish this blade completely before becoming a full-fledged craftsman. It is said that the appearance of the pattern depends on the young and the veteran, and you can see how delicate the work is. Here is the tenugui that has been dyed.There are of course double-sided dyed towels with different colors on the front and back, as well as patterned tenugui that are properly dyed through the back. Not only the dyeing technique, but also the basic Japanese bleaching method has a special point.
One of the features of Tenugui is not only that it is a thin fabric that is easy to carry, but also that the short sides are left unsewn. Originally, it was used as a bandage or as an emergency treatment for the thongs of clogs. Taking advantage of the merits of Japanese bleaching that is easy to use not only for daily use such as towels, but also for going out and outdoor scenes, we have prepared handkerchief-sized tenugui this time. By all means, please try tenugui, which is full of craftsmanship.