The area located in the northwest of Kyoto (Kamigyo Ward, Kita Ward) is called "Nishijin," and the textiles produced by weavers belonging to the Nishijin Textile Industry Association are referred to as "Nishijin-ori." It is characterized by a variety of weaving methods, with 12 types of manufacturing techniques recognized as Nishijin-ori.
Nishijin Okamoto has inherited the tradition of Nishijin-ori for over 100 years across 4 generations. Among them, it specializes in the luxurious fabrics woven with gold thread, gold leaf, and silver thread known as "Kinran," which has a history of being supplied to shrines and temples nationwide.
This time, I spoke with the company's president, Keiji Okamoto, and executive director, Ema Okamoto, about the company's journey and the evolution and future of Nishijin-ori.
PROFILE
Keiji Okamoto
Nishijin Okamoto President
Born and raised in the company, studied oil painting at Musashino Art University. Joined in 1998 as a traditional craftsman in handweaving, responsible for weaving, sales, color coordination, and repairs.
PROFILE
Ema Okamoto
Nishijin Okamoto Executive Director
Born and raised in Sapporo, studied dyeing and weaving at Tokyo Zokei University. Fascinated by fiber art under her university professor and Junichi Arai from Kiryu, she wanted to engage in innovative textiles and fiber art, but married Keiji and began working in Nishijin-ori from 1998. Responsible for textile design, website creation, social media, and preparing lunch.
Connecting Nishijin-ori with Kinran for 4 Generations
The textile industry flourished from the Heian to the Muromachi period, which allowed the Nishijin area near the court where noble families lived to prosper in textiles.Ema "The bakufu and samurai society loved gorgeous and heavy luxury textiles, which led to a demand for high-status designs that could express class through colors and patterns, featuring motifs of flowers, birds, wind, moon, and traditional auspicious patterns. Technically, luxurious expression techniques using gold and silver threads were widely adopted, making the textiles very expensive due to the time needed to gather materials and weave them."
Nishijin Okamoto was established around 1890 (the 23rd year of the Meiji era) when the current president, Keiji Okamoto's great-grandfather began weaving Kinran. The tradition has been passed down through 4 generations and is now managed by 8 family members.
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