Edo Sarasa Double-Woven Stole Resembling a Celestial Maiden’s Robe (Purple)
A seated wearer draping the purple Edo Sarasa silk stole over a white blouse.
The purple double-woven silk stole arranged lightly over the head and around the neck.
A wearer lifting one end of the purple Edo Sarasa stole while wrapping it at the neck.
A wearer seated in a living room with the purple silk stole wrapped loosely at the neck.
Model seated at a table guiding one end of the purple double-woven Edo Sarasa silk stole through her hands.
Edo Sarasa Double-Woven Stole Resembling a Celestial Maiden’s Robe (Purple)
A seated wearer draping the purple Edo Sarasa silk stole over a white blouse.
The purple double-woven silk stole arranged lightly over the head and around the neck.
A wearer lifting one end of the purple Edo Sarasa stole while wrapping it at the neck.
A wearer seated in a living room with the purple silk stole wrapped loosely at the neck.
Model seated at a table guiding one end of the purple double-woven Edo Sarasa silk stole through her hands.
Tomita Dyeing & Crafts Co., Ltd. SKU: BJ_P_00102

Edo Sarasa Double-Woven Stole Resembling a Celestial Maiden’s Robe (Purple)

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Regular price ¥119,612
Regular price Sale price ¥119,612
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Product Details

PRODUCT DETAILS

Two Sheer Layers, Dyed into Depth

This 100% silk Edo Sarasa stole brings two translucent layers together in a 2,000 × 640 mm form. Purple, blue, green, and muted gold motifs shift as the fabric folds, while long pale fringe softens each end. Dyed by Tomita Dyeing & Crafts, the piece pairs visual depth with an exceptionally light 25 g weight.

USE & APPRECIATION

A Wide Drape Over the Shoulders

Open the stole across the shoulders when you want color without a heavy-looking layer. Its translucent silk lets the blouse beneath remain part of the effect, while overlapping folds deepen the purple Edo Sarasa pattern.

A seated wearer draping the purple Edo Sarasa silk stole over a white blouse.

Following the Silk by Hand

Run the light fabric gently through your hands as you choose a drape. The two sheer layers change the density of color where they overlap, making the act of arranging the stole part of its visual pleasure.

Model seated at a table guiding one end of the purple double-woven Edo Sarasa silk stole through her hands.

A Sheer Frame Around the Face

Draw the silk loosely around the face for a more enveloping indoor drape. The translucent edges soften the outline while purple pattern gathers near the neckline, offering a different expression from the same generous length.

The purple double-woven silk stole arranged lightly over the head and around the neck.

Pattern in Motion

Lift and settle one end to see how the pattern changes as the layers move. The 25-gram silk keeps the gesture light, letting purple, blue, and green appear in different combinations with each arrangement.

A wearer lifting one end of the purple Edo Sarasa stole while wrapping it at the neck.

A Soft Layer in a Seated Moment

Settle into a quiet indoor conversation with the stole loosely draped at the neck. Its layered color adds interest to simple clothing, while the sheer silk creates a generous visual presence without a bulky fold.

A wearer seated in a living room with the purple silk stole wrapped loosely at the neck.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Care & Handling

Care summary: washing, ironing, and outdoor use are not permitted for this stole.

Do not wash, iron, or use this stole outdoors.

OBJECT PASSPORT

Product details

Dimensions
2000× H640 mm
Material
100% silk
Product weight
25 g
Origin
Japan

Created for Mitsukoshi Nihombashi's JAPAN STOLEY project, this stole brings Edo Sarasa dyeing by Tomita Dyeing & Crafts to untwisted Kawamata habutae silk. Its theme is transparency and the changing character of the waterside.

Approximately 43 stencils are used in the hand-dyeing process. Repeated alignment builds the fine pattern, while space between the two thin layers creates tonal variation and visual depth. Subtle differences in rubbing pressure can also produce slight variations in character.

Material: 100% silk.
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 · 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.

A representative of Tomita Dyeing & Crafts at the workshop entrance in Waseda, Tokyo.
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.
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