Edo Sarasa · Marumon Tote Bag—Navy/Red
A woman in a pale blue shirt and navy trousers holding the Marumon tote in a sunlit entrance hall.
A woman holding the Marumon tote while looking at an illustrated book in a room with dark blue bookshelves.
A seated woman in a cream outfit with the Marumon tote beside her near a round cafe table.
A woman in a plum dress holding the Marumon tote in a warmly lit interior with brass-framed doors.
The Marumon tote on a woven chair beside a coffee cup and potted greenery.
The Marumon tote on a dark console beside a key tray, bowl, and small potted plant.
Edo Sarasa · Marumon Tote Bag—Navy/Red
A woman in a pale blue shirt and navy trousers holding the Marumon tote in a sunlit entrance hall.
A woman holding the Marumon tote while looking at an illustrated book in a room with dark blue bookshelves.
A seated woman in a cream outfit with the Marumon tote beside her near a round cafe table.
A woman in a plum dress holding the Marumon tote in a warmly lit interior with brass-framed doors.
The Marumon tote on a woven chair beside a coffee cup and potted greenery.
The Marumon tote on a dark console beside a key tray, bowl, and small potted plant.
Somenosato Ochiai, General Incorporated Association SKU: BJ_P_00009

Edo Sarasa · Marumon Tote Bag—Navy/Red

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

PRODUCT DETAILS

A Rhythm of Marumon for Everyday Carry

Structured in cotton with dark handles and base, this Edo Sarasa tote sets circular marumon motifs across a pale ground. Navy and red accents appear among quieter tones, giving the surface a measured rhythm. Its generous upright form brings a traditional dyed-textile vocabulary into an everyday object for indoor use and personal carry.

USE & APPRECIATION

Marumon moments, from day to evening

A composed start to the day

For an indoor appointment or reception, finish simple tailoring with a patterned detail. The tote’s dark handles and base echo navy trousers, while the circular marumon motifs bring color to the pale cotton field. Pair it with a plain shirt and enjoy how a traditional textile pattern gives a familiar outfit a more individual character.

A woman in a pale blue shirt and navy trousers holding the Marumon tote in a sunlit entrance hall.

Among books and collected objects

Spend an afternoon among books and objects you like to examine closely, with the tote as part of the arrangement. Its repeated circular motifs offer small variations to discover, much like details in an illustrated page. A plain knit and warm-colored skirt leave the pattern visible, making the cotton bag a natural focus beside quieter clothing.

A woman holding the Marumon tote while looking at an illustrated book in a room with dark blue bookshelves.

A moment for conversation

When you sit down for a conversation, the tote can remain a part of the outfit rather than disappearing from view. Its pale field and dark outline stand clearly beside a simple dress and softly colored seat. At an indoor gathering, give it a clean, dry place nearby and enjoy the different motifs at close range.

A seated woman in a cream outfit with the Marumon tote beside her near a round cafe table.

Small motifs for an evening occasion

For an indoor dinner, let the bag supply pattern while the dress provides a single field of color. The small marumon motifs stand out against plum fabric, framed by the tote’s navy handles and base. Enjoy this balance of decorative detail and plain clothing as the textile takes on the warmer light of the room.

A woman in a plum dress holding the Marumon tote in a warmly lit interior with brass-framed doors.

Coffee with a closer view

During an indoor coffee break, keep the tote nearby where you can appreciate its textile surface. The repeated circles make a pleasing contrast to the broader curves of a cup and chair, with small colors to pick out as you look closer. Choose a clean, dry resting place away from drinks and leave the pattern in view.

The Marumon tote on a woven chair beside a coffee cup and potted greenery.

An accent on arriving home

Back at home, give the tote a clean, dry place on a console while you put things away. Its pale cotton field and repeated motifs bring a decorative note to the room, with the navy base defining the outline. Leave a little space around it and enjoy the same patterned accent that completed your outfit.

The Marumon tote on a dark console beside a key tray, bowl, and small potted plant.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Care & Handling

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

Washing, ironing, and outdoor use are not permitted.

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.

Representative of Some-no-Sato Ochiai standing at the entrance of a wooden facility.
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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