Edo Sarasa · Floral Arabesque Navy Tote Bag
A woman in a cream suit holding the navy floral Edo Sarasa tote beside an abstract painting in a gallery.
A seated woman holding the floral Edo Sarasa tote in a bright room with plants and a teacup.
A woman in a green dress holding the navy floral tote in a warmly lit room with a piano.
The floral Edo Sarasa tote on a pale upholstered seat beside neutral clothing and cream shoes.
The navy floral Edo Sarasa tote on a round table beside a coffee cup, a book, and potted greenery.
The navy floral Edo Sarasa tote resting on a pale car seat beside dark wood trim.
Edo Sarasa · Floral Arabesque Navy Tote Bag
A woman in a cream suit holding the navy floral Edo Sarasa tote beside an abstract painting in a gallery.
A seated woman holding the floral Edo Sarasa tote in a bright room with plants and a teacup.
A woman in a green dress holding the navy floral tote in a warmly lit room with a piano.
The floral Edo Sarasa tote on a pale upholstered seat beside neutral clothing and cream shoes.
The navy floral Edo Sarasa tote on a round table beside a coffee cup, a book, and potted greenery.
The navy floral Edo Sarasa tote resting on a pale car seat beside dark wood trim.
Somenosato Ochiai, General Incorporated Association SKU: BJ_P_00008

Edo Sarasa · Floral Arabesque Navy Tote Bag

Price
Regular price ¥68,642
Regular price Sale price ¥68,642
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Product Details

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

For time spent in a gallery, let the tote bring a smaller work of pattern into your outfit. Floral arabesque on pale cotton stands out against simple tailoring, while navy handles and a dark base give the design a clear frame. Pair it with plain colors and enjoy discovering the textile’s details alongside the art around you.

A woman in a cream suit holding the navy floral Edo Sarasa tote beside an abstract painting in a gallery.

A pause among flowers

Settle into a bright sitting room and let the tote become part of the occasion. Its curling floral pattern echoes the plants and ceramics nearby, while the navy frame keeps the colors composed against a soft knit and pale skirt. Enjoy the cotton textile at close range as you pause with a book or conversation.

A seated woman holding the floral Edo Sarasa tote in a bright room with plants and a teacup.

Pattern for an evening gathering

An indoor evening gathering offers another way to dress with patterned cotton. Against a solid green dress, the tote’s pale floral field supplies the detail, and the navy handles and base keep the outline defined. Let the bag be the patterned accent, enjoying the change in its colors under the room’s warmer light.

A woman in a green dress holding the navy floral tote in a warmly lit room with a piano.

Begin with the pattern

Begin an outfit with the bag rather than adding it at the end. The tote’s floral cotton suggests colors you can echo in a blouse, jacket, or shoes, while the navy base gives the arrangement a steady reference. Lay a few pieces nearby and enjoy finding a balance between the intricate pattern and simpler textures.

The floral Edo Sarasa tote on a pale upholstered seat beside neutral clothing and cream shoes.

A place at the table

A quiet coffee break is a chance to enjoy the tote even when it is set down. Its cream floral field and navy base bring a clear pattern beside a plain cup and favorite book. For your own indoor setting, choose a clean, dry place away from drinks and let the textile provide the decorative detail.

The navy floral Edo Sarasa tote on a round table beside a coffee cup, a book, and potted greenery.

Between appointments

Between appointments, a brief pause gives you a closer view of the bag you have chosen. Against a pale seat, the navy outline draws attention to the floral cotton and its finely interwoven colors. Use that contrast as inspiration for a simple outfit at your next indoor occasion, letting the tote carry the pattern.

The navy floral Edo Sarasa tote resting on a pale car seat beside dark wood trim.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Care & Handling

Care summary for the Edo Sarasa navy tote: washing, ironing, and outdoor use are not permitted.

Washing, ironing, and outdoor use are not permitted. Keep this cotton tote for indoor use, and do not launder or iron it.

OBJECT PASSPORT

Product details

Dimensions
Height 27cm(including handles 38cm)× Width 33cm × Depth 15cm
Material
100% cotton
Product weight
500 g
Origin
Japan
Craft Heritage

CRAFT HERITAGE

Craft Heritage

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

TRADITIONAL CRAFT PROCESS

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.

A person in kimono standing before a dark wooden workshop exterior.
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 workshop’s craftspeople carry out the dyeing, while Takaichi connects their work with the wider community as its representative.

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 hand processes create the rhythm of pattern and depth of color associated with Edo dyeing. The judgment of craftspeople working with stencils, paste, and dye shapes its expressive character.
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