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Craft Report
The captivating harmony of embroidery and blurred-dyeing.
Founded in 1927 and based in Kita Ward, Kyoto City, Fukudaki creates innovative kimono using embroidery, dyeing, and foil techniques. Their designs are characterized by the blurred-dyeing that enhances the embroidery, the unique silk luster that emerges with movement when worn, the harmonious and vivid color palette, and the bold, painterly compositions that balance color, patterns, and spatial elements. These features embody both a respect for tradition and a sensitivity to contemporary design.
The vivid gradations of bokashi-zome (blurred-dyeing) are a traditional technique used to express Japanese scenery. This bokashi evokes the impression of gazing upon a misty landscape, a reflection of Japan’s humid climate. (In contrast, Europe’s relatively dry climate has fostered a preference for sharp color divisions and vivid hues.)
The dyes used are custom-blended to create original colors, with a conscious emphasis on employing a wide range of shades to achieve painterly designs. Yet, the dyeing process is extremely difficult—requiring at least three years of training before artisans can master it. This is because humidity and other daily conditions constantly influence the dyeing process, making it impossible to produce identical results. Artisans must adjust their techniques according to the nature of each color (for example, warm colors spread easily, while cool colors resist spreading). Such expertise demands both knowledge and long experience. At Fukudaki, even in joining cloth lengths, meticulous care is taken to ensure the blurred edges align perfectly—a costly and highly demanding detail often avoided elsewhere.
To complement the blurred-dyeing, embroidery is applied sparingly yet beautifully. The late Kisuke Fukuda, a predecessor of the workshop, was the only artisan in embroidery to be designated a Living National Treasure (Important Intangible Cultural Property). The painterly compositions—balancing embroidery, blurred-dyeing, and spatial harmony—remain highly regarded and faithfully carried on today.
The delicate motifs are each carefully painted based on the “草稿 (draft),” which serves as a charcoal- or pencil-drawn prototype design.
Preserving tradition through change and challenge.
Kiyuki Fukuda, the second-generation successor, treasures the words of his predecessor, who believed that “change is necessary” to sustain embroidery as both a craft and a bearer of kimono culture. “If we continue making the same things, there is no growth, and the craft cannot endure. That’s why we must never cut corners, but constantly refine, brainstorm with fellow artisans, and keep challenging ourselves,” he explains. Holding close to these words, Fukuda continues to adapt methods of expression to the times, while making new proposals and creations for the future.
Because every color and stitch is handmade in consultation with artisans, the workshop is also able to fulfill custom orders, such as kimono for coming-of-age ceremonies. By working closely with each client, they create unique, one-of-a-kind kimono. Recently, they have also begun producing art panels using actual kimono they crafted, pioneering a new way to “display kimono” as interior decor.
Interview: Takuya Atarashi / Photography: Daiki Morishita / Text: Kento Onishi
