Beauty out of Necessity

The use of white thread stitches on indigo-blue textile is deeply rooted in the Tsugaru region: in fact, the native inhabitants of Ou (today’s Northern Honshu) wore clothing made of indigo colored hemp, which they repaired and quilted by using white hemp stitches.

Later on, when small quantities of cotton became available, it became the favourite fibre to use for the stitched embroidery, as it made the light hemp textile warmer and sturdier. Over time, the tradition was passed on, and the work became a task reserved for the women of Tsugaru.

We have seen that the use of white cotton embroidery started for utilitarian reasons, making textiles sturdier and warmer, but it is impossible to ignore its aesthetic appeal. In fact, this tradition transformed and developed into a specialized craft, known as kogin-zashi (こぎん刺し, literally “small cloth stitches” ). The stitches follow strict numerical patterns which create beautiful designs. The kimono pictured here presents a beautiful and elaborate embroidery with a diamond pattern.

Making kogin became permanently tied with the social context of the people of Tsugaru: women embroidered during the winter, during the long snow-bound months. Mastering patterns may have been a way to pass time, a source of pride and maybe of friendly rivalries. Girls were taught embroidery from a young age by the older women of the family, and they worked hard at creating embroidered kimono for themselves and their future husbands. During holidays and festivals, the women and men of the village would all wear their best kogin embroidered kimono.[Yanagi & Brase 2017]

The act of stitching white cotton into blue kimono was therefore transformed from an act of necessity into a specialized craft.It became deeply tied to the social fabric of the region, which, understandably, became a source of pride and belonging for the people of Tsugaru.