Day 17. We visited a factory where they weave a special type of obi outside of Fukuoka. We were served tea first and saw lovely pieces. They are known as Hakata obis. Hakata is a part of the city of Fukuoka.
Here the president of the Hakata Ori factory, Mr Kazuyuki Kuroki was showing his special obi with areas you could see through. I have a macro lense I can attach to my iPhone so we all could see that those areas were a gauze weave we call Leno.
This is a traditional obi. The designs in the stripes have significant meanings. This pattern is about a child being loved by parents. This is a typical Hakata obi.
Making a warp. The fabric is all warp face. That means only the warp shows.
A cloth bring woven on one of the many old power looms. The sound of all the looms weaving was wonderful.
This loom was special for weaving the wavy lines. It has a special fan reed that is moved up and down. These have interested me for a long time so it was fantastic to see one in use.
Love these photos, most interesting fabrics being made.
Great to see the looms and weaving!!!