“Life is but a tissue of habits.”

— Henri-Frédéric Amiel

If we believe that, we can change our life by changing our habits. And I think that good habits are about having a good routine in our daily life. In this blog, I would like to introduce our products as things to accompany such a good daily routine. 

Gunnai-Jima Linen

Now, we would like to introduce Gunnai-Jima Linen. This series was inspired by silk fabrics woven in the Gunnai region of Yamanashi Prefecture in the Edo period (1603-1868), and Gunnai-Jima linen is made from the fabric woven using colors that fit in with modern life, while retaining the appearance of those days. The fabrics made with respect for the craftsmen of the time are the greatest appeal of this series.　

What is Gunnai?

Yamanashi Prefecture is sometimes roughly divided into two regions. One is the area around the Kofu Basin, called Kuninaka, and the other is the area north of Mt.Fuji, called Gunnai. It is composed of 12 municipalities. Uenohara City, Kosuge Village, Tabayama Village, Otsuki City, Doshi Village, Tsuru City, Nishikatsura Town, Oshino Village, Yamanaka Lake Village, Fujiyoshida City, Fuji Kawaguchiko Town, and Narusawa Village.　

Mt.Fuji from Fujiyoshida City, the central city of the Gunnai region (Arakurayama Sengen Park).

And this name "Gunnai" was associated with one of the vassals of the warloard Shingen Takeda in the 16th century of Japan.

Takeda 24 Generals" (Collection of Takeda Shrine, Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture)

One of Takeda's vassals was a man named Oyamada Nobushige. The ancestors of  Oyamada clan were a powerful family based in present-day Tsuru City. They also had frequent clashes with the Takeda clan. Therefore, in opposition to "Kuninaka" around the Kofu Basin, which was the Takeda clan's territory, the name "Gunnai" was first used to refer to the Oyamada clan's territory.

From then on, this area came to be called "Gunnai".

Iwatono Castle in Otsuki City was a key castle of the Oyamada clan and is said to be one of the three best castles in the Kanto region.

After the death of Shingen, Oyamada Nobushige defected to Takeda Katsuyori ( Shingen's son ), but after the fall of the Takeda family, he was destroyed by the combined forces of Nobunaga and Ieyasu for his disloyalty to Takeda.　　

This region was then ruled by Nagamasa Asai, a vassal of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Nagamasa's vassals became lords and built Katsuyama Castle in Yamura, Tsuru City. (According to recent research, the Oyamada clan had already begun construction of this castle as a strategic castle during the Sengoku period.)

Katsuyama Castle was located on a mountain called Oshiroyama, on the opposite bank of the Katsura River from Yamura Station on the Fujikyu Railway.

In the Tokugawa era, the Torii clan established the Yamura clan and entered this castle. The Akimoto clan followed. The promotion of silk fabrics by the Akimoto clan had a great impact on the development of textiles in this area.

Yasutomo Akimoto, who became lord of the Yamura domain after being transferred from Jyoshu Ueno Soja (Gunma Prefecture). 

Gunnai-Hira

If Yasutomo Akimoto had not come to the Gunnai region, the history of textiles in this area might have been different. This is because the Akimoto family encouraged its vassals to produce silk fabrics as an inside job.

image

At that time, vassals of small clans such as the Yamura clan often supplemented their income by moonlighting. Therefore, Akimoto's vassals wove silk fabrics for summer hakama. This textile was "Gunnai-Hira". Beginning with the first generation Yasumoto, and continuing with his son and grandson for three generations of 72 years, this Gunnai-Hira weaving technique was transplanted to the farming villages of Gunnai.

Shogun Yoshinobu Tokugawa dressed in Hakama

The key point is that Gunnai-Hira is "for summer use". If it was to be used in summer, it should have been thin and lightweight. It also needed to be sturdy.

To travel around the country like Ryoma Sakamoto, Hakama also needs sturdiness.

To meet the above conditions, silk was the perfect choice at the time. First of all, silk is ideal for making thin fabrics because it can be made into fine threads. Also, if fine threads are woven at high density, the cloth becomes light and strong.

Silk produces the finest yarn of all natural fibers.

The techniques for making such fabrics spread throughout the region, and a variety of silk fabrics were produced. It would seem that this is attributable to "Gunnai-Hira".

Gunnai-Jima popular in the Edo period

In an Edo period book, "Bankin Sigiwai Bukuro" , it is written, "Silk fabrics made in Koshu Yamura are of good quality."

An old Book said to have been written in the Edo period.

A variety of elegant silk fabrics were woven in Yamura, the castle town of the Yamura clan. One of them was called Gunnai-Jima. Jima means stripes. This Gunnai-Jima was very popular among the merchants of Kamigata (Kyoto and Osaka), the center of Genroku culture. The fact that it appears in numerous works by cultural figures representing the Genroku period is proof of this.

Ihara Saikaku 「 Koshoku Ichidai Otoko 」(1682)

"...I went to the bathhouse to do a thing with you, as my heart desired, but Yoshi found me, and I promised her a 'Gunnai-Jima' for his grief and various other reasons..." 

Chikamatsu Monzaemon 「 Shinju Yoi Goshin 」(1722)

"On the sixth day of the sixth month of April, a carpet is laid on the grass in the morning dew. The name of the deceased is still missing on the carpet. The age is 39, "Gunnai-Jima", stained with blood and red. On the clothes..."

Jyuppennsha Ikku ( 1765-1831 )

十辺舎一九（1765-1831）

Even after the Genroku era, Gunnai-Jima continued to gain popularity. The late-Edo Bunka-Bunsei period playwright Jyuppennsha Ikku's "Provinces on the Road: Golden Sandals," Part XII - Minobu Douchu no Ki, contains the following Japanese poetry.

"I came to the famous Gunnai-Jima production area. A spring haze like a chambray silk fabric spread out is visible"

From Gunnai-Jima to striped Kaiki

What kind of fabric was the Gunnai-Jima that became so popular? Unfortunately, there are no actual examples left. What is known is that it was used as the outer fabric of kimono. In the time that followed, silk fabric called "Kaiki" woven in the Gunnai region was used for the lining of Haori, so Gunnai-Jima is thought to have had a different texture from this. However, it is believed that the design characteristics of Gunnai-Jima were inherited to Kaiki.

So, by showing you one group of Kaiki, we will try to let you know what kind of fabric Gunnai-Jima was.　

Here, please note that the following materials are from the Meiji to Taisho periods, and the dyes are considered to be different from those of the Edo period, so the colors should be viewed as reference only.　　 

Gunnai-Jima Linen is the modern reincarnation of Gunnai-Jima Silk Fabric.

So, what did you think? 

We can imagine the perseverance of the craftsmen of that time. Even when there was no electricity, they were making such intricate textiles only by hand.

We are moved by the fact that there used to be people who made textiles that were loved by people in our region, and we decided to pay homage to Gunnai-Jima Silk. And we would like to make linen that is loved like it.

Gunnai-jima Linen that we made.