Honoring Tradition, Breaking the Mold: The Path of the 8th-Generation Master of Kurobane Aizome Konya

2026.04.20

#Artisan

#Craftsman

#Tochigi

#Indigo Dyeing

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#History

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#Traditional Crafts

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In the Kurobane district of Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, you'll find the indigo dyeing workshop Kurobane Aizome Konya, a business that has continued since the Edo period. The eighth-generation master, Onuma, says he wants to be “an artisan who isn't your typical artisan.”

After intense training, he has expanded into designing sneakers, creating spatial installations, and collaborating with different industries. While preserving tradition, his boundary-pushing approach sets him apart from the conventional image of a craftsman.

Honoring tradition, breaking the mold. Kurobane's indigo is now opening up to new forms of expression.

PROFILE

Yuta Onuma

Born in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, in 1985. He is the eighth-generation master of the indigo dyeing workshop, “Kurobane Aizome Konya.” After graduating from high school, he trained in katazome (stencil dyeing) in Tokyo before taking over the family business at 24. As an artisan carrying on the traditional techniques of Kurobane Aizome, he is also exploring new forms of expression, including sneakers and spatial design, to share the craft's appeal with a modern audience.

Kurobane Aizome: Developed as Workwear for Nakagawa River Lumber Merchants

About a 20-minute bus ride from Nasushiobara Station in Tochigi Prefecture brings you to Kurobane Aizome Konya in the Kurobane district of Otawara. At the entrance to the storehouse, an indigo noren (curtain) dyed with the shop's crest, “Te,” flutters in the wind.

“This year marks our 222nd anniversary. I'm the eighth generation to run this indigo dyeing workshop, which dates back to the Edo period. This area once prospered as a castle town for Kurobane Castle, and there were many lumber merchants who transported wood down the nearby Nakagawa River to Edo. While indigo dyeing is often associated with clothing for farmers, Kurobane Aizome was the workwear of merchants.”

Merchants would commission indigo-dyed hanten coats with their shop crests. It is said that the more layers they wore, the more it demonstrated the prosperity of their business, leading artisans to compete in making them.

“Since Kurobane Aizome was for workwear, it's characterized by its durable fabric and deep, rich indigo color. By first applying a base coat using a technique called shoen-zome—a liquid made from the soot of burnt pine roots, animal glue, and soybean juice—the fabric becomes stronger and can be dyed a deep, intense, dark color.”

Then, using a paste made from cooked rice bran and rice flour, patterns are applied with Ise-katagami (stencils). When the paste-applied fabric is indigo-dyed, beautiful patterns emerge where the white contrasts with the indigo.