PRODUCT DETAILSFloral rhythm, framed in navyA field of floral arabesque meets deep navy handles and base in this Edo Sarasa tote. Made from 100% cotton and shaped at 27 cm high, 33 cm wide, and 15 cm deep, it brings a richly...
PRODUCT DETAILS
Floral rhythm, framed in navy
A field of floral arabesque meets deep navy handles and base in this Edo Sarasa tote. Made from 100% cotton and shaped at 27 cm high, 33 cm wide, and 15 cm deep, it brings a richly worked textile surface into a clear, everyday carrying form.
USE & APPRECIATION
Ways to enjoy floral pattern
Art to carry into the gallery
Choose a quiet gallery visit as an occasion to pair the tote with a simple, light-colored outfit. Its floral arabesque becomes a small composition of its own beside larger works of art, while the navy handles and base give the patterned cotton a clear visual frame.
A pause among flowers
Settle into a bright sitting room with a book and a cup of tea nearby. Against a soft rose knit and pale skirt, the tote brings its own rhythm of flowers and curling stems. Enjoy the way those details echo the plants and floral ceramics around you.
Pattern for an evening gathering
For an indoor evening gathering, pair the tote with a solid-colored dress and let the textile provide the detail. The cream floral field stands out against deep green, with navy edging keeping the composition defined. Warm lamplight offers another setting in which to appreciate the pattern.
Begin with the pattern
Make the tote the starting point for an outfit, choosing a pale blouse, a textured jacket, or understated shoes to sit alongside its floral cotton. Seen together before dressing, these pieces invite a considered balance of pattern and plain color, with the navy base anchoring the arrangement.
A place at the table
Bring the floral pattern into the moment of a leisurely meal or coffee break. Beside a pale tabletop, simple cup, and favorite book, the cream ground and muted colors are easy to appreciate. Keep the surrounding arrangement spare so the cotton textile remains the focus of the scene.
Between appointments
Before the next indoor appointment, take a moment to notice the tote against a quiet, neutral interior. The pale seat makes the floral field and navy outline especially distinct. Pair that visual contrast with simple clothing, carrying the same patterned accent from one part of the day to the next.
OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE
Care & Handling
The current product master marks washing, ironing, and outdoor use as not permitted. Keep this cotton tote for indoor use, and do not launder or iron it.
Sarasa originated in India more than 3,000 years ago and spread across Asia and Europe, developing in ways that reflected the cultures of each region. It is believed to have reached Japan during the Muromachi and Momoyama periods, between the 14th and 16th centuries.
Edo Sarasa emerged from the middle to the late Edo period. By the closing years of the period, stencil-printing specialists had established a distinctly Japanese form of sarasa that became widely known.
Its designs often stylize flowers, plants, birds, animals, and human figures, combining an exotic visual character with the climate and aesthetic sensibilities of Japan. Depending on the design, artisans layer color through approximately 20 stencils, or as many as 90 for more intricate patterns.
Subtle shading, softly blended effects, delicate tonal gradations, and a subdued palette shaped by Tokyo's water are defining characteristics of the craft.
How It’s Made
HOW IT’S MADE
How It’s Made
About the Making Process
Edo Sarasa is created by layering multiple stencils and colors by hand to form patterns on cotton or silk. Even a relatively simple design may require 20 to 30 stencils, while an intricate pattern may use as many as 90. The artisan plans the palette around the fabric's ground color and the customer's order, then mixes the dyes with careful attention to how the colors will appear when layered.
1. Making the Stencils
Sheets of handmade washi are laminated with persimmon tannin to form traditional stencil paper.
The design is cut into the prepared paper to create the stencils.
2. Planning the Ground Color and Palette
The artisan considers the fabric's ground color and the customer's order when selecting the colors for the pattern.
The full palette is planned with careful attention to the appearance of overlapping colors.
3. Dyeing the Ground Color
Cotton or silk fabric is given its ground color using hikizome, a method of applying dye across the fabric with a brush.
This establishes the overall color of the cloth before the patterned colors are applied.
4. Preparing the Printing Paste and Dyes
A printing paste is prepared from glutinous rice flour, rice bran, salt, and other ingredients for use in stencil dyeing.
The dyes are mixed with careful consideration of how each color will appear when layered with the others.
5. Hand Stencil Dyeing
Each stencil is positioned on the fabric, and color is rubbed through it by hand with a brush.
Depending on the design, approximately 20 to 90 stencils are carefully aligned and used in succession to build the pattern.
The artisan adjusts the pressure and movement of the brush to create subtle shading, softly blended effects, and delicate tonal gradations.
Meet the Maker
MEET THE MAKER
Meet the Maker
MAKER · OCHIAI, TOKYO
A Dyeing Culture Carried by a Community
Some-no-Sato Ochiai preserves more than finished textiles. It carries forward the knowledge of how designs are drawn, stencils are cut, color is judged, cloth is stretched, and skill is passed from one person to another.
Yoko Takaichi, Representative Director and Cultural Steward
Yoko Takaichi’s path into this world began through the neighborhood itself. Raised close to kimono through her mother, who worked in tailoring, she later created a local community publication while raising her family. A visit to the dye house Futabaen led to her involvement with Some-no-Komichi, a community project created to make Ochiai’s nearly hidden dyeing culture visible again. In 2015, she served as the project’s representative. She now leads Some-no-Sato Ochiai as its representative director.
Her role is to hold together the workshop’s cultural purpose, its relationship with the neighborhood, and the work of the dyeing craftspeople. The dyeing itself is carried out by the workshop’s craftspeople; Takaichi is introduced here as the representative who connects their work with the wider community.
A Century of Dyeing in Ochiai
The workshop traces its lineage to Futabaya, established in Ochiai in 1920. The district had become a center for dyeing as makers moved upstream in search of cleaner water along the Kanda and Myoshoji rivers. At its height, the area was home to more than 300 dye-related businesses; lengths of cloth being rinsed in the river were once part of the neighborhood’s everyday landscape.
That industrial landscape has become far smaller, but the work continues. Some-no-Sato Ochiai was established to carry the century-old workshop heritage forward, train people, share the culture, and keep hand processes present in the city where they developed.
Why the Hand Still Matters
Edo dyeing is a sequence of judgments. A design is translated into stencils; cloth is fixed evenly to a long printing board; paste and color must be applied with control; each layer must meet the last. A single Edo Sarasa design may require dozens of stencils, while especially complex work can require hundreds. In the coloring room, recipes handed down over time are not simply repeated: craftspeople continue to adjust and develop color by eye and by experience.
These are not invisible extras added to a finished object. They are the source of its rhythm, depth, and human presence—the qualities that allow a textile to feel composed rather than merely printed.
What Closes the Distance
For a customer viewing the work from overseas, trust comes from a visible chain rather than a generalized story about “Japanese tradition”: the named workshop in Ochiai, the people who sustain it, the stencils and dyeing processes practiced there, and close views of the dyed surface. Community and history explain why the craft continues; the workshop and process evidence show the reality behind that history.
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