About KURASHIKI HAMPU
The historical city of Kurashiki retains vestiges of the Edo period. Once a “tenryo*1 under the direct control of the Edo shogunate, Kurashiki prospered as a centre of commerce and industry and a land ideal for the cultivation of high-quality cotton. The cotton woven in the textile district of the city was known as the finest in Japan. We have produced KURASHIKI HAMPU using the same traditional process since 1888. Traditional KURASHIKI HAMPU, a product woven with Quality, has attracted many with its beauty throughout the ages.
*1 A directly controlled territory of the Edo feudal government that ruled Japan in the Edo period (1603-1868).
Characteristics of KURASHIKI HAMPU
The quality of our first-class KURASHIKI HAMPU is partly achieved through a sophisticated thread-twisting technique that has been handed down for more than 120 years. The flexibility and strength of the thread derive from the twisting of several 100% cotton yarns. The canvas is woven by a melodious process on a shuttle loom that has been used with care throughout the ages. Natural cotton is transformed into richly textured KURASHIKI HAMPU with an artisanal hand and a close eye to detail.
History of HAMPU (sailcloth) in Japan
HAMPU (sailcloth) is a heavyweight fabric used for sails at sea, woven together from thick threads of materials such as cotton and hemp. Cotton was officially brought to Japan in the Muromachi period. The first-ever HAMPU to reach Japan came on the sailboat of Nobunaga Oda, a Sengoku military commander. The oldest extant HAMPU, the basis for the modern sailcloth of Japan, was reportedly a hand-woven cotton sailcloth produced by Matsuemon Kuraku of Takasago, Harima Province (present-day Hyogo Prefecture). Some believe, however, that the sailcloth industry prospered even earlier in areas such Kurashiki, the source of 70% of all sailcloth now produced domestically.
In the Meiji period, HAMPU was mass-produced as an industrial commodity in the form of rail cargo sheets and tents, straining cloths for the production of sake and soy sauce, tool bags for craftspersons, and bags for students and milkmen. The producers of HAMPU were determined to make the best of its sturdiness to meet the needs of all its users.
Kurashiki is a city on Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. It’s known for the centuries-old buildings and shops of the Bikan Historical Quarter. The Ohara Museum of Art has works by European masters such as El Greco and Monet. Nearby, Japan Rural Toy Museum displays toys from the 1600s to the 1980s. The Archaeological Museum has artifacts from the region’s ancient cultures. Boats cruise the district’s narrow central canal. ― Google
