古代辻が花染ANCIENT TSUJIGAHANA DYEING

日本の中世の染色、辻が花
タペストリーに再現された「幻の技法」

辻が花とは室町時代中期（15世紀）の文様染め。詳しい染め方が伝承されず「幻の技法」とも呼ばれる。古代辻が花染研究会の佐々木宗一はその再現に挑む唯一の染色職人で、文化庁の依頼で桃山時代の武将の小袖再現も手がけた。「水鳥に花鳥」は、室町時代の衣装を再現した作品。時代考証に独創を重ねた、現代の古代辻が花である。

Tsujigahana – a medieval Japanese dyeing technique
A lost technique revived in tapestries.

Tsujigahana is a pattern dyeing technique dating back to the mid-Muromachi period (15th century). The exact dyeing method was not handed down, which is why Tsujigahana is also known as the “lost dyeing technique.” Soichi Sasaki of the Ancient Tsujigahana Dyeing Study Group has been single-handedly trying to revive this technique; at the request of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, he has replicated the short-sleeved kimono worn by generals in the Momoyama period. “Mizutori ni kacho” (waterbirds and flowerbirds) is another work of his that reproduces a costume from the Muromachi period. It represents a modern version of ancient Tsujigahana in which background research meets with originality.