Bingata （紅型）
Japanese textile-dyeing stencils themselves are works of art and are collected. Their making and cutting is an independent craft, and stencil cutters have been designated "Living National Treasures" by the government. Simply, three sheets of the finest grade of handmade mulberry paper are coated and glued together with persimmon tannin, smoked for durability, aged, and then the designs are cut. Even the cutting tools are wonders of craftsmanship, and watching the cutting is like experiencing a form of music.
Haneri （半襟）
Collar cover to prevent taints and decorate around neck.
Inden （印伝）
Sheep or deer skin lether dyed and dotted with Japanese lacquer "Urushi".
Juban （襦袢）
Kimono slip, a kind of underwear to wear before Kimono.
Kasuri （絣）
Pattern woven to look like "brushed" picture.
Nishi-jin （西陣）
Nishijin weaving was created in Kyoto over 1200 years ago by using many different types of colored yarns and weaving them together into decorative designs. These specialized procedures are tedious, but necessary to obtain the spectacular design needed to ensure the quality of Nishijin weaving.
Obi （帯）
a sash worn with a kimono or with the uniforms used by practitioners of Japanese martial arts.
Fukuro-Obi （袋帯）
Obi woven as an unseamed tube with a single pattern; The front side has a design and the back side is plain. The width is 30cm (11.8") and the length is 4.2m (165"). It is normally a very thick Obi. It is a formal Obi.
Obi - Heko-Obi （兵児帯）
It is a type of Obi which has shibori and is very soft. It is considered as a casual obi and often worn by children with their yukata and also by men with a casual Kimono.
Obi - Maru-Obi （丸帯）
Obi made from double-wide fabric, which is creased down the center, and hemmed at the selvages; always fully patterned; usually decorated in small, repeated motifs; often in multiple colors; typically the most formal obi worn by women. This obi as designs on the front and back. Extremely gorgeous Obi.
Obiage （帯揚げ）
Obi Sash that covers the obimakura (a pillow that puffs up the obi and makes the bow look fuller) and keeps it in place on the obi. It is still visible from the front view of a person wearing kimono.
Obijime （帯締め）
A long string (rope) which is used to keep the "Obi" stable. It makes a beautiful accent both obi and Kimono. The materials are silk, satin or gold brocade. It is also used as a wall hanging.
Rinzu （綸子）
Japanese silk satin with patterns formed by weaving.
Tanmono （反物）
Unit that has enough length to make a Kimono. Usually, it is around 36cm (14.5" ) in width and around 12m (492") in length.
Tsumugi （紬）
Fabric woven to have burls on sureface intentionally these days. It was produced due to usage of less fine silk string long time ago.
Shibori （絞り）
"Shibori" is often translated "as tie-dye," but this easy label is far too limited. Shibori is a galaxy of resist techniques, all involving shaping the fabric in different ways then securing or binding it tightly so that dye does not affect the cloth where it is secured. The variety of techniques is truly astounding, varying from the familiar tie-dye to a wide range of stitched-and-bound techniques to winding and binding cloth to cores of different materials and sizes to folding and clamping between boards and the exotic and wonderful tub-stuffing resist. Though shibori is practiced in many other parts of the world, including techniques not found in Japan, and has historical importance, no single region has as many techniques as Japan. The serendipitous accidental effects that happen with shibori are part of the technique's charm and are particularly dramatic with cotton and indigo.
Yuzen （友禅）
The name of this technique appears often in art books, but few adequate descriptions are found in English. One reason is because it is so complex; basically yuzen is a mixture of freehand paste resist and painting, and it also may include stencil and shibori work. The decorative flexibility possible with this combination of techniques is unsurpassed. Design motifs are first outlined in paste resist, then the dyes are applied in such a way as to give subtle gradation of tone. Both delicacy and extravagance are characteristic of yuzen, and traditional motifs and decorative concepts are most common. Embroidery and gold leaf application often finish a yuzen composition.
Yuzen dyed in Kyoto is called Kyo-Yuzen (京友禅), and Yuzen dyed in Kanazawa (金沢) is called Kaga-Yuzen (加賀友禅).
Yuzen-Zome （友禅染）
It is said that the yuzen technique of painting dye directly onto cloth was established by Miyazaki Yuzensai, a popular fan painter living in Kyoto toward the end of the 17th century. He introduced his own style of painting as a way of rendering pattern and this led to the birth of this handpainted dyeing technique. A multicolored yuzen was used to apply painterly designs to kimono cloths and grew in stature from the middle of the 18th century as merchant culture flourished. In the Meiji period (1868-1912), utsushi yuzen was developed using stencils to create these distinctive designs.
Chirimen （縮緬）
Silk fabric woven to have fine wrinkles on surface.
Furoshiki (風呂敷)
Traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that is square and was frequently used to transport cloths, gifts, or other goods.
Furisode (振袖)
One of female Kimono styles distinguishable by its long sleeves, which are around 100 cm in length. It is the most formal Kimono for unmarried women in Japan. Usually, Furisode patters are very fine and brightly colored and worn when celebrating Coming of Age Day (20 year-old anniversary) in these days.
Yukata (浴衣)
A casual summer kimono usually made of cotton. People wearing yukata are a common sight in Japan at firework displays, bon-odori festivals, and other summer events.
Hakkake （八掛）
Inside cloth of Kimono used around cuff and hem. If it is meant for the bottom area only, it is also called Susomawashi (裾廻し).
Susomawashi (裾廻し)
Please refer to the page of Hakkake (八掛)
Komon (小紋)
One kind of Kimono. Its pattern is with small pictures spread all over the fabric, regardless of the direction.
It is casual Kimono, so that, not suitable to wear for formal situation, except for Edo-Komon.
Edo-Komon (江戸小紋) is one of Komon characterized by ty dots arranged in dense patterns that form larger designs. As the word, "Edo" indicates, it is dyeing technique developed in Edo era. Kimono of Edo-Komon pattern is of the same formality as "Iromuji", and if it has family emblem dyed or sewed, it can be worn as same class as "Houmongi" .
(江戸小紋): is a type of komon characterized by tiny dots arranged in dense patterns that form larger designs. The Edo komon dyeing technique originated with the samurai class during the Edo period. A kimono with this type of pattern is of the same formality as an iromuji, and when decorated with kamon, may be worn as visiting wear
Tomesode (留袖)
Formal, highest class Kimomo for women with pictures only along with the bottom of the skirt. It has 5 family emblems dyed on chest, sleeves, and back.
If it is black color, it is for married women, and other colors are for unmarried women.
Houmongi (訪問着)
Houmongi replaces the role of "Furisode" when a woman marries. Houmongi has shorter sleeves than "Furisode". Short sleeves mean "Married woman", but can be worn by unmarried women, as well. Houmongi is second class formal Kimono for women next to Tomesode, worn at ceremonies. Houmongi usually has gorgeos and beautiful picture drawn like a paint art. They can be placed anywhere including collar, however, it cannot be the one with orderly pattern that is same even upside down.
Tsukesage (付下げ)
Formal, third class Kimono for women next to Houmongi (訪問着) with simple pictures on the fabric except for collar part.
Iromuji (色無地)
Kimono made from undecorated fabric of any color but black. If it has family emblems, it will be as high class as Houmongi (訪問着).
Uchikake (打掛)
"Uchikake" is a highly formal kimono worn only by a bride or at a stage performance. It is often heavily brocaded and is supposed to be worn outside the actual kimono and obi, as a kind of gown. Therefore never ties the obi around the Uchikake. It is supposed to trail along the floor, this is also why it is heavily padded along the hem.
Haori (羽織)
A kind of jacket, wearing on Kimono. If it is formal, it has emblems dyed. If it is made from "Komon" pattern fabric, it cannot be worn on formal situation. Sometimes, Haori is made from same fabric with Kimono and worn as ensemble.
The major characteristics of Chusen are as follows.
Firstly in Chusen, a technique called Sashiwake is employed. Whereas most dyeing procsses utilize a monochrome stencil, Chusen enjoys a multi-color stencil, enabling the simultaneous use of several dyes. Another significant technique in Chesen is called Bokashi. Unlike Sashiwake, no preventive paste is necessary since color gradations and shadings, the particular effects produced by the technique, rather encourage a blending of colors.
Secondly, Tenugui is always reversible, with patterns appearing both on front and reverse side. To Japanese, the exposure of a reverse side has always been undesirable. This obsession is reflected in Katazome, a dyeing method in which the application of a paste resist (Kataoki), is repeated twice both on front and reverse side. Chusen, on the other side, which enables the simultaneous application of a paste resist on both sides, requires only one Kataoki. The latter method is also superior in the infiltration of dyes, coloring down to the fiber core by a compressor suction, leaving no trace of which is the front and which the reverse side.
Thirdly, the Chusen stencil is large in size compared to the conventional one, allowing spatial freedom for designs and patterns. For easy handling, the stencil is studded onto the wooden frame upon the application of a paste resist.
A combination of carefully selected colors and materials yields irressistible elegance, and int ehis way, there is nothing that exceeds Chusen-Processes Tenugui.
