The fragrance of the flowers in bloom is now in full bloom (Manyoshu)
Japan's blue culture (Japan Blue) was already in full swing during the Nara period.
Indigo blue clothing from the Heian period still exists in records and picture scrolls.
Of the surviving indigo blue garments, the one that is most notable is Tokugawa Ieyasu's Tsujigahana-dyed kosode (Important Cultural Property). The person who came up with the idea of recreating this kosode was Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the director of the Tokugawa Art Museum.
Work began on the project shortly before 1965 and it was completed in 1988.
The craftsmen who completed this work were Awa (Tokushima Prefecture) indigo master (sukumo craftsman) Sato Akito (Intangible Cultural Property) and indigo dyer Yano Aishu (Sato Akito's daughter's husband).
Sato Akito is the only person in Japan who still cultivates the indigo variety "Shirahana Kojoko" (which was praised as "Zuiichi" when it was passed down from the Edo period to the Meiji period) that has been passed down through generations, and produces sukumo (fermented indigo; the raw material for indigo dyeing).
This blue was dyed using sukumo fabric by Awa indigo master Sato Akito and by indigo dye master Yano Kanhide.
-Aishu's company is Honaizome Yano Factory Limited.
