It’s something you’ll never forget.
This memorable and innovative design has captivated many artists, like the rock star Kiyoshiro Imawano.
His favorite stage costume, which he wore when he shuffled off this mortal coil, was made from these fabrics.
How do you make a piece of fabric so fierce that it makes a star out of the wearer?
From the entrance of Kitaguchi-hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine, head toward Mt. Fuji and you will find Miyashita Orimono along a road surrounded by forests. For generations, the Miyashita family has served as Shinto priests for Sengen Shrine, where they worship Mt. Fuji.
The factory you see here was once no more than simply “Grandma Miyashita’s house,” and here is the story of how it came to be Miyashita Orimono.
Tamaki Miyashita was born in Osaka, where she attended design school and planned to work after finishing her education. She only visited her hometown during her summer vacations, doing the bare minimum for the family business by drawing assorted designs. During one such visit as she was about to return to Osaka, her aunt gave her a cosmos plant with long roots that were growing in the garden, saying, "Please plant this in your house in Osaka." Tamaki received the gift and went to the station, but when she arrived at Kawaguchiko Station and sat on a small single-track train seat, a magnificent view of Mt. Fuji appeared as she held the cosmos plant close. At that moment, she had an inescapable thought, "Oh, we must live here!" The long roots of the cosmos along with the magnificent view of Mt. Fuji must have led Tamaki to take root here.
A year and a half later, Tamaki resigned from her company in Osaka and relocated to Mt. Fuji. She knew nothing about textile design and had to learn everything from scratch. In her first year, Tamaki struggled just to keep up with the orders, but by the second year, she was already weaving as a unique form of expression. The jacquard loom handled by Miyashita Orimono is characterized by its ability to weave complex patterns, using a technique to make certain parts sink to the background while making other parts stand out. They have also figured out certain designs that make the best use of the characteristics of the loom. It was her sixth year working at Miyashita Orimono when she was finally able to create a design that truly felt “hers”.
But that level of comfort led Tamaki to yet another crossroad in her life. Again, she wanted to start over from scratch and find new meaning in life, so she packed a bag and went off to travel the world with no destination in mind. Eventually, she arrived in Southeast Asia, where she found herself visiting all the fabric shops she came across. In Malaysia she found the batik; in Myanmar, she visited textile factories, and in Nepal, she frequented sari fabric shops. She found fascinating fabrics in every country she visited. However, after three months abroad, the itch to weave returned. Though she could have continued traveling, she decided instead to return to Japan, though not without hanging on to her free spirit. “I could leave again any time,” Tamaki tells us. Since that trip, her everyday life changed completely, and she let the wings of her creativity fly through her original designs.
Miyashita Orimono cloth is the kind that reminds a customer they’re the protagonist in their life. Their fabrics are used for wedding dresses and stage costumes and feature luxurious textures and eye-catching designs. And it seems that new design ideas appear without warning, much like the day Tamaki suddenly decided to move to Mt. Fuji-- a flash of inspiration without a moment of hesitation. "Our products can only be woven here," says Tamaki. It’s said that threads dyed with the special water that springs from Mt. Fuji have a completely different depth, luster, and luxury, and the Hataorimachi loom enables delicate design.
On the third Saturday of each month, you can buy these fabrics starting from 1 meter in length. Your moment of realization might be waiting for you there, as you watch the making of this luxurious fabric.
