Feature

Japanese denim - following the heritage of the samurai and ordinary people

About Japan Blue

For young people the term “Japan Blue” conjures up the image of Japan's national soccer teamﾕs uniform worn at international matches. However, it was actually first coined by an English scholar on his visit to Japan. That was 130 years ago, in 1878, the year when Robert William Atkinson, an English scientist with authority on dye pigments and brewing (the study of Japanese sake), walked the villages and towns of Japan during a transition period when Japan went from a samurai-ruled nation to a modern one. Atkinson was surprised to see the overwhelming number of people in Japan who wore indigo-dyed clothing. His desire to present in his own country the rich variety of blue shades used in and around the quotidian lives of the Japanese, such as seen in shop entrance noren curtains and furoshiki (wrapping cloth), led to his use of the term Japan Blue in his book. As someone with authority on dyeing, he seemed to have been awed by the profoundness of Japan's aizome (indigo dyeing) culture. Japan Blue is now once again emerging and used to indicate indigo dyes or denim jeans, presenting a new Japanese culture to the world.

Rich variety of shades of blue

Although the dark blue used in Japan's national soccer team uniform may look monotonous, there is actually an astoundingly variety of blue shades used in Japan's aizome and denim jeanswear. With aizome, the intensity of the blue color changes according to factors such as the thickness of the dye used, the number of dipping, and duration of dyeing. Until now, 48 types of shades are said to have been passed down as a tradition. The naming of the various colors is rather interesting. The first blue color appeared in the ancient times, with the color such as hanada (the blue of Spiderwort) stipulated as the color for the court costume worn by the entourage of the Emperor in the 7th century. Another blue color is the nando (storage), named after the samurai who served as the keepers to warehouses or safes who wore kimono in this particular color. The color blue was diversified over the last 1,300 years, with the palest shade being kamenozoki (peek into the pot), so named apparently because this color requires very short dipping time, hence the meaning “just a peek (into the dyeing pot).” With synthetic indigo dye invented in 1880 and that it shared the same properties as natural indigo dye, it became possible for mass production. It also meant that the traditions and spirit of the eras of natural indigo dyeing could be continued and passed on.

The functions and usage of blue aizome

It is well known that indigo-dyed cotton cloth has many functions, the most well-known of which is its insect repelling effect. Even in the US the selling point and the merit of jeans in the 19th century was in their ability to repel snakes. In Japan, work clothes and hoods used in agricultural fieldwork and dyed with kasuri (splashed pattern) indigo dyeing were quite effective in repelling insects, such as mosquitoes. Dyes like ai or indigo mix well with cotton and has prominent effect to strengthen the cotton cloth fibers. The function to strengthen cotton material can be seen in the Edo period sashiko (firefighting wear) required for hikeshi firefighters; the material was of ﾔheavy ounceﾕ aizome cotton and was durable and highly absorbent.

Samurai and aizome blue

The relationship between samurai warriors and aizome blue is a profound one. During the period of the Warring States dating from the 14th century, undergarments worn underneath the yoroi (armor) and kabuto (helmet) were of indigo-dyed material. The reason for this was for the materialﾕs effect in repelling insects in the deeply grassed battlefields, as well as acting as deodorizing agent against sweat. In the periods that followed, a samurai warrior committing himself to the honorable hara-kiri suicide would wear white kimono if he was of a noble class, and asagi (light greenish blue) if he was of a lesser class. For a samurai who respected honor, aizome blue was the symbolic color that indicated his determination to devote himself. We can see many examples of the use of indigo dyeing blue in many films and television dramas, such as the momohiki (longjohns) worn by travelers in the Edo period traveling on foot, or the haori (half kimono coat) used by the Shinsengumi special police force.

Indigo (rope) dyeing and the inheritance of traditions

Aizome has been used in all sorts of situations in the lives of people from different classes. It is a textile product deeply related to the lives of such as farmers, fishermen, merchants, and children. Aizome has been applied not only on clothing; there is an entire variety of items not imaginable today, such as bedding items, mosquito nets, noren curtains, furoshiki wrapping cloth, and tenugui towels. While the glamorous silky kimono belonged to the upper class nobles, warlords, monks, and geisha, the tradition of aizome that sustained the clothing needs of the majority of commoners has been inherited today to become the foundation of Japan's jeanswear industry. It did not take the leaders of enterprises that inherited aizome, Japan's indigo dyeing techniques, to realize their roles when American denim wear culture was imported to Japan after WWII. Japan's indigo dyeing has attained a variety of shades and textile patterns and thickness of materials have changed to answer the needs of different situations; all these have become useful in the technical development of modern jeans and denim wear. The techniques used in todayﾕs outstanding rope dyeing and revolutionary weaving machines have their origins in the aizome traditions. In addition, techniques such as washing process and stone washing have also been born out of the sensitivity of the Japanese as the result of making hard denim acceptable to the Japanese. Also vital are elements and factors such as Japan's natural environment abundant in natural, softer water suitable for washing, as well as the development of stone washing using pumice thanks to Japan's being a volcanic nation. The Japan Blue of todayﾕs denim wear has undoubtedly rooted in the beautiful land and traditional cultures of Japan. Further anticipations of Japan's jeans and denim wear will continue into the future.