Tomita Dyeing & Crafts Co., Ltd. SKU: BJ_P_00108

Edo Komon Clutch bag, Black

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Regular price ¥64,340
Regular price Sale price ¥64,340
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Product Details

PRODUCT DETAILS

A Black Leather Clutch with a Quiet Tokyo Pattern

Black cow leather gives this clutch a crisp envelope form, while a white Tokyo Some-Komon panel introduces a fine repeating pattern along one side. The angled edge and contrasting stitches sharpen its profile. Measuring 310 mm wide and 180 mm high, the one-of-a-kind piece brings a precise graphic contrast to indoor dress and close viewing.

USE & APPRECIATION

Black and White Held in Balance

Carry the clutch against a plain outfit and let its black-and-white contrast provide the detail. The clean envelope shape remains restrained, while the fine patterned panel gives the eye something to discover at closer range.

A person holding the black leather and patterned white clutch across both hands beside a bright window.

Opened Beside a Café Table

Open the clutch during an indoor café pause to reach a few personal belongings. Its broad flap reveals the simple envelope construction, turning a practical gesture into another view of the patterned leather.

A seated model opening the black leather and white Tokyo Some-Komon clutch beside a café table.

A Graphic Accent for an Indoor Gathering

Choose the clutch as a graphic accent for an indoor gathering. Black leather sits easily beside dark tailoring, while the white patterned panel introduces contrast without the need for bright color or elaborate decoration.

A person in a restrained dark outfit holding the black-and-white Tokyo Some-Komon clutch at an indoor gallery reception.

Presented in a Quiet Interior

Keep the clutch close during a seated visit and open it when needed. The patterned panel and plain black flap remain distinct in the hands, bringing careful visual balance to a useful personal accessory.

A seated person presenting the open black leather clutch in a quiet Japanese-style room.

The Envelope Form Opened

Lift the flap and notice how the envelope outline changes as the bag opens. The contrast between plain and patterned leather continues through the gesture, giving the piece interest in use as well as when carried closed.

A seated person opening the black leather clutch to show its patterned side and black interior.

Follow the Pattern from Near to Far

Take a closer look at the fine pattern before choosing how to pair the clutch. From a distance it reads as a clear white accent; near at hand, the repeating lines add texture to the restrained black leather form.

A close three-quarter view of the clutch being turned by hand, showing the fine black repeat wrapping around the white panel into smooth black leather.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Care & Handling

Care panel for the cow-leather clutch: do not wash, dishwash, iron, heat, refrigerate, freeze, or use outdoors.

Do not launder, place in a dishwasher, iron, heat in a microwave or oven, use on an induction cooktop, refrigerate, freeze, or use outdoors.

OBJECT PASSPORT

Product details

Dimensions
310 H180 mm
Material
Cow leather
Product weight
293 g
Origin
Japan
Craft Heritage

CRAFT HERITAGE

Craft Heritage

The origins of komon dyeing reach back to the Muromachi period, but the practice became widespread during the Edo period. A production center developed in Edo to dye the formal kamishimo worn by feudal lords who gathered there from across Japan.

Initially associated with samurai dress, komon spread among townspeople in the mid-Edo period and flourished under the influence of urban culture. It was worn by both men and women during the Edo period, but became exclusively women’s attire in the Meiji period.

How It’s Made

TRADITIONAL CRAFT PROCESS

How It’s Made

About the Making Process

Tokyo Some-Komon is produced in a single workshop, from preparing the colored paste through final drying.
An approximately 20-centimeter stencil is placed repeatedly along a bolt of white fabric about 12 meters long, with precise alignment required to create an uninterrupted fine pattern.
To reproduce the carver's design accurately, the dyer monitors the condition of the fabric, stencil, and paste throughout the process.

1. Carving the Stencil
  • Two or three sheets of handmade washi are laminated with persimmon tannin to create the stencil paper.
  • The carver cuts the intricate pattern using awls, small knives, and specially made carving tools.
2. Preparing the Colored Paste
  • Glutinous rice flour, rice bran, and a small amount of salt are mixed, steamed, and kneaded into a base paste. Dyes are then added.
  • The base color and pattern color are adjusted through repeated test dyeing.
3. Applying the Stencil Paste
  • White silk is stretched taut across a long, solid fir board. A cypress spatula is used to press resist paste through the stencil.
  • The stencil is repositioned along an approximately 12-meter bolt by aligning tiny registration points called okuriboshi. Its moisture is carefully controlled because drying can alter the stencil’s dimensions and disrupt the alignment.
4. Drying on the Board
  • The resist paste is dried while the fabric remains attached to the board. For multicolored designs, the stencil application is repeated.
5. Ground-Color Dyeing (Shigoki)
  • Once the resist is dry, the fabric is removed from the board and ground-color dye paste is spread evenly across the surface with a large spatula.
6. Steaming
  • Before the dye paste dries, the fabric is steamed at 90–100°C for approximately 15–30 minutes to set the color.
7. Washing
  • The steamed fabric is thoroughly rinsed to remove the resist paste and excess dye.
8. Drying and Finishing
  • The fabric is dried, returned to its proper width through a steam-finishing process called yu-noshi, and carefully inspected.
Meet the Maker

MEET THE MAKER

Meet the Maker

MAKER · WASEDA, TOKYO

Patterns That Reveal Themselves Slowly

At its Waseda workshop, Tomita Dyeing & Crafts continues Tokyo Some Komon and Edo Sarasa using Ise *katagami* stencils, while also applying its dyeing knowledge to accessories and objects for contemporary life.

A person standing at the entrance of Tomita Dyeing & Crafts beside its noren sign.
Atsushi Tomita, Fifth Generation

For Atsushi Tomita, dyeing was part of daily life long before it became his profession. From childhood, his mornings began alongside the workshop’s resident craftspeople, cleaning the garden and workspaces before school; after class, he returned to help with the family trade. He later worked for a women’s apparel company, then came home to the workshop at age 31. In 2006, he became its fifth-generation president.

That path—rooted in the workshop but informed by the wider world of fashion—still shapes his approach. Tomita carries forward inherited skill while looking for new patterns, colors, and forms that make Tokyo dyeing meaningful now.

A Workshop Shaped by Tokyo

The workshop was founded in Asakusa in 1882 and moved upstream to Waseda in 1914, when dye houses were seeking the cleaner water of the Kanda River. There, generations of makers have practiced Tokyo Some Komon and Edo Sarasa using Ise katagami stencils.

Tokyo Some Komon rewards a closer look: what first appears to be a quiet field of color resolves into an extraordinarily fine repeating pattern. Edo Sarasa builds a different kind of depth, layering motifs and color through successive hand processes. In both, the result depends on more than a design. It depends on how a stencil is placed, how paste and dye are prepared, and how consistently the maker works across a length of cloth.

Tradition, Kept Alive Through Use

Tomita does not see continuity as repetition. Through the workshop’s SARAKICHI line, inherited dyeing knowledge has moved beyond kimono into accessories and objects for contemporary life. The purpose is not to make tradition look new for its own sake, but to let the qualities that made it endure—restraint, wit, rhythm, and exacting handwork—remain useful and felt.

Shipping Information

Shipping to the United States

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Estimated arrival

Estimated arrival is usually within 5–10 business days after payment and order confirmation. This is an estimate and not a guaranteed delivery date. Timing may vary because of the destination, carrier conditions, customs review, weather, remote-area service, or other circumstances outside our reasonable control.

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Damage or incorrect delivery

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