PRODUCT DETAILSNatural leather, patterned with a quiet Tokyo rhythmNatural cow leather gives this drawstring pouch a warm, softly structured form, while a pale blue-and-white Tokyo Some-Komon pattern wraps the lower panel. At 155 millimeters in diameter and 210 millimeters high, the pouch...
PRODUCT DETAILS
Natural leather, patterned with a quiet Tokyo rhythm
Natural cow leather gives this drawstring pouch a warm, softly structured form, while a pale blue-and-white Tokyo Some-Komon pattern wraps the lower panel. At 155 millimeters in diameter and 210 millimeters high, the pouch is sized for selected personal items. Open the gathered top to see the patterned lining and construction more closely.
USE & APPRECIATION
Gather a few essentials before leaving
Gather a few small personal items before leaving and place them inside the round pouch. The drawstring opening closes the soft leather into a compact form that can be carried by hand. Capacity and load limits are not specified, so choose light contents that fit comfortably within the confirmed dimensions.
Open it and follow the pattern within
Loosen the cords and look into the open pouch. The photographs show a pale blue patterned lining that continues the visual conversation between the interior and the exterior band. This close view is useful when deciding how the pouch feels as an object, beyond the simple function of holding personal items.
Read the fine pattern at close range
Bring the lower panel close enough to follow the fine repeated motifs across the pale surface. The pattern, seams, leather grain, and changes in the gathered top reveal different details as the pouch turns. Handle it with clean hands and follow the confirmed restrictions on washing, ironing, heating, cold storage, and outdoor use.
A clear first impression by the window
Held against soft daylight, the pouch's gathered upper leather and patterned lower band are easy to read together. The person's hands provide a clear sense of scale without hiding the round base.
Closing the gathered top
The photograph shows both hands at the drawstrings as the upper leather gathers inward. It gives a practical view of the closing movement while keeping the full pouch visible.
Held close in a living room
Resting against the hands and lap, the pouch appears compact and softly structured. The quiet interior setting makes the contrast between natural leather and the pale patterned band easy to compare.
Adjusting the Cords on the Sofa
With the pouch supported on her lap, the model uses both hands at the cords. The close seated view differs from the existing still hold, making the gathered rim, natural leather and patterned lower band easy to compare.
A calm interior setting
Placed in front of the seated user in a Japanese-style room, the pouch remains the clear center of the photograph. Its round base, gathered top, and warm natural tone are visible without suggesting outdoor use.
Seen Against the Garden
In the supplied outdoor photograph, the model carries the pouch at her side as she turns through the garden. The wider setting gives a clear sense of scale and silhouette. This is a presentation photograph only; follow the current care guidance and keep the pouch indoors in use.
OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE
Care & Handling
The current product master does not permit laundry, dishwashing, ironing, microwave, oven, induction, refrigeration, freezing, or outdoor use. No additional cleaning method is confirmed in the supplied materials.
OBJECT PASSPORT
Product details
Dimensions
155Φ×210Ｈ mm
Material
Cow leather
Product weight
159 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 · 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.
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.
A Clear Line Back to Waseda
Buying from another country should not make the origin of the work abstract. The sequence shown here—Tomita, the Waseda workshop, an Ise *katagami* stencil, the preparation of color paste, and the dyed surface—keeps the chain of making visible. Together, these details show where the practice continues, who carries it forward, and why the finished surface bears the character of work done by hand.
Shipping Information
Shipping to the United States
We currently ship online orders to all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., including Alaska and Hawaii. U.S. territories and countries other than the United States are not currently included.
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.
Shipping charges
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Duties and import taxes
U.S. orders are shipped on a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) basis, regardless of order value. Where duties, import taxes, or related import charges apply, the amount collected by BRAND JAPAN is shown at checkout. You should not ordinarily be asked by the carrier to pay those charges again upon delivery. If a carrier requests an unexpected import payment, do not pay it immediately; contact us with your order number and the carrier's notice.
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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