Wisdom in Northern area- Hirosaki-Kogin (Kogin-stiching)

In my personal opinion, to try to keep out the cold using limited resources is much more difficult than to keep out the heat.

Today I would like to introduce Hirosaki-Kogin, a traditional stitching technique that has been developped from such attempt to survive the severe winter weather in the Tohoku region. 

These coasters with unique embroidered designs are manufactured and sold by Hirosaki Kogin Kenkyujo (弘前こぎん研究所："Institute of Hirosaki-Kogin").

To begin with, let me simply explain the details of Kogin stitching with its history and background.

Hirosaki is a city of a second northmost prefecture in Japan, where the outdoor temperature in the middle of winter is -10 degree Celsius sometimes! (and is also famous for delicious apples:))

According to the article (jp ver) of Wikipedia, in 1724 (mid-Edo perio), the then-governor of this area stipulated a rule that banned luxuious life of farmers.  Under this rule, the farmers were not permitted to wear cotton clothes, and had to put on clothes of hemp.  However, hemp fibers are too coarse to keep out the severely chilly window in winter.  

For this reason, a technique of doing embroidery all over the clothes began to be used in order to improve wind-proof performance, and is the embroidery technique that is currently known as "sashi-Kogin" (Kogin-stitching).  The clothes with such embroidery had been worn since about 1740's.

Hirosaki Kogin Kenkyujo(弘前こぎん研究所: "Institute of Hirosaki Kogin"）, which was established in 1960 for the purpose of basic research of Kogin, explains that girls at farmer families started to lean kogin-stitching when they are 5-6 years old, and did embroidery as if they are competing the beauty of it as they grew up.  So it can be said that the unique Kogin crafts are had been developed by the hands of common people, and is the embodiment of their individual craftsmenship!

The rule was abolished after a while, then the time changed and the old-type daily wears were replaced by the Western clothes.  These days the clothese with Kogin-stiching are not used any more, but Hirosaki Kogin Kenkyujo is now manufacturing and selling bags, purse, and other small products made using the Kogin technique in order to let people know the tradition of this embroidery and its beauty. 

And I found a website of a project called "kogin" by young people, who seem to be trying making modern versions of kogin.  It's quite interesting!

*Thanks to Akko, my friend I mentioned before, for letting me know this great tradition of Kogin and giving the picture above :)

Card case made of paper that cannot be torn - Kurotani-washi (Japanese Paper)

"This card case will not be torn even if it gets wet." - This description attracted my attention because the card case is made of paper.  More accurately, it is made of Kurotani-washi (黒谷和紙）, or handmade Japanese paper produced through traditional processes in Ayabe-shi, located in the Northern area of Kyoto prefecture.

The description says the paper used for the product contains glue made from Konjak (edible plant of Araseae family, eaten mainly in Japan, China, and some other Asian countries), which is traditionally added to paper in the course of production process for the purpose of reinforcement and waterproofing.

Even if such reinforcement is not provided, washi is said to be much stronger than Eastern paper due to the difference in the material.  The strength and flexibility of Japanese paper have been recognized worldwide, and it has been utilized for restoration of cultural properties - even in the libraries and museums in Europe!

Returning to the story of the card case, this product does not make me feel "tradition" although it has the gentle texture of washi, maybe because of its horizontal stripe pattern with cool charcoal blue which are not seen very often in typical Japanese traditional products.  I find, in this modern design on the historical craft, an effort of young craftsman who is attempting to continue the history of Kurotani-washi.

The creator of this card case is Mr. Wataru Hatano.  You can check his delicate and beautifully colored paper products on his website. 

According to Japan Handmade Washi Association, the history of Japanese washi paper started　from about 1000 years ago in some places, and there are as many as over 70 places famous for washi paper production.  I hope I will be able to introduce washi products created in other places some time.