Tokyo-dyed Komon · Small Cherry Blossoms Gama-guchi Eyeglass Case · Navy
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Product Details
PRODUCT DETAILSA Pocket-Sized Field of Tokyo-Dyed Cherry BlossomsWrapped in navy silk tsumugi and patterned with a dense scattering of small cherry blossoms, this gama-guchi eyeglass case turns an everyday necessity into a compact expression of Tokyo Some-Komon. The gently arched metal frame...
PRODUCT DETAILS
A Pocket-Sized Field of Tokyo-Dyed Cherry Blossoms
Wrapped in navy silk tsumugi and patterned with a dense scattering of small cherry blossoms, this gama-guchi eyeglass case turns an everyday necessity into a compact expression of Tokyo Some-Komon. The gently arched metal frame gives the silhouette its distinctive character, while the restrained palette makes the fine white motif easy to appreciate at a glance.
USE & APPRECIATION
Beside the Book You Return To
Keep the case beside a favorite book when reading at home. Its navy ground settles naturally into a quiet desk or side table, while the small white blossoms reward a closer look. When the pages close, the eyeglasses have a clearly defined place within the same evening ritual.
Part of the Morning Dressing Ritual
Set the case near a mirror or dressing tray as you prepare for the day indoors. The navy silk tsumugi reads as composed rather than ornate, and the small cherry blossoms add detail without overwhelming neighboring personal objects. It becomes part of choosing what to carry and wear.
A Familiar Detail in a Hotel Room
On a hotel-room desk, the case gives eyeglasses a familiar place amid temporary surroundings. Its recognizable navy field and white blossoms stand apart from generic travel accessories, making it simple to spot before leaving the room. The craft is experienced through an ordinary, repeatable action.
A Gift Chosen for Daily Use
Choose it for someone who appreciates textiles and uses eyeglasses every day. The gift is specific rather than ceremonial: a practical form covered in silk tsumugi and Tokyo Some-Komon patterning. The small cherry blossoms offer a recognizably Japanese motif without turning the object into a display piece alone.
Look Closely at the Repeating Rhythm
Take a moment to study how many small blossoms meet across the curved surface. Their repetition gives the navy case movement without relying on a large central emblem. Viewed up close indoors, the object offers a compact way to appreciate the fine-patterned character associated with Tokyo Some-Komon.
OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE
Care & Handling
These restrictions reproduce the confirmed product master. No additional product-specific cleaning method or handling warning was supplied.
OBJECT PASSPORT
Product details
Dimensions
19.5㎝×9.5cm
Material
100% silk (tsumugi)
Product weight
70 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
HOW IT’S MADE
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 · 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.
Shipping Information
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Damage or incorrect delivery
If the parcel or item arrives damaged, contact us within 48 hours of delivery. For an incorrect or incomplete order, contact us within 14 days. Keep the item, outer box, inner packaging, and shipping label, and prepare photographs showing their condition. Do not return an item until we provide instructions.
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