Hello there,

We’re continuing our visit to KOHO Nishiki Textile Studio. After taking some time to admire the textile artworks on the display, chatting about the characteristics of Nishiki weaving and a short interview with Amane Tatsumura, we’re going to the studio’s basement level for an actual loom weaving experience.

There, we discover that besides studying ancient textiles, KOHO TATSUMURA is also engaged in renovation and making of looms. Apparently, different types of wood are used in loom and weaving tool making, such as pine and hinoki (Japanese cypress).

If you’ve never been to a Japanese textile atelier before, prepare yourself to be blown away once again by all the thoroughness and extent of attention to detail that is involved in the process. And if you’re lucky and one of the studio’s weavers is working during your visit, you can observe their skilful movements and ask a couple of questions.

Never having had a hands-on weaving experience of any kind before, I opted for a gentle introduction into the textile world with a simple plain weave (hiraori) challenge. After choosing the thread colour, I received an explanation of the weaving process. It took me around 15 minutes to weave a 10cm x 10cm piece of textile, and it was so much fun! At the end, Tatsumura-san helped me with the final preparation of the piece by closing the weave and detaching it from the loom.

If you’re up to a more complex experience, you have a choice of a twill weave session (18cm x 18cm piece, 45 minutes) or even a weaving on a tall loom session (38cm x 15cm piece, 4 hours). Whatever you choose, it’ll be an unforgettable experience.

If you plan to visit KOHO Nishiki Textile Studio, book your experience here: https://www.kyotoartisans.jp/en/contact-2

Words & images by Anastasiya Bulkavets ( ArigatoCreative.co )