For example, when you look at the "Virgin Mary," you might notice the blue garment.
While this expensive and rare blue held special meaning in painting, at the same time in Japan, blue dyed with indigo was widely embedded in the daily lives of Edo people, such as clothing and daily necessities. The impression of 'blue' they found in Japanese landscapes and daily life may have been born from these cultural differences.

Against this historical backdrop, indigo, which paired well with hemp and cotton, became widely loved as cotton rapidly spread. During the Edo period, the production, processing, and distribution of indigo developed, and in some regions, it grew into a major industry. Although there were differences by region, the process was divided among farmers cultivating indigo, indigo masters who made indigo and indigo beads from leaf indigo, and indigo shops who built dye liquids from agari to dye fabric.
Indigo dyeing was not completed by the indigo shop alone; even the farmers who grew the indigo had to harvest the leaves, dry them, ferment them, and go through a lot of effort before becoming the dye. Sukumo production is also an important step in bringing out the color of indigo. It was precisely because of the people responsible for this work that the indigo dyeing was able to continue stably. The spread of indigo dyeing was supported not only by artisans but also by the people who connected production and dyeing.

The Edo Trend Created by 'Konya'

Around 1600, during the Keicho era, under Tsuchiya Goroemon, the indigo shop owner who was authorized by Tokugawa Ieyasu to purchase indigo from all around the Kanto region, his subordinate dyeing craftsmen gathered, and eventually a kinyamachi (blue shop) town was formed in Kanda.

Yukata and tenugui dyed in Kanda Konyamachi were loved by the people of Edo, to the point that it was said, "You can tell the year's trends just by visiting Konyamachi." Konya didn't just dye fabric indigo. They adjusted color shades to order and distinguished patterns, requiring dyeing tailored to their needs and preferences. From everyday items like yukata and tenugui to the hanten worn by merchants and artisans, the work of konya was present in various aspects of daily life. For townspeople, konya were also craftsmen who supported their daily lives. That is why indigo dyeing was not only about the skill of dyeing clothes, but also about the craftsmen creating Edo's clothing and creating trends. The sight of dyed fabric being dried in town is no exaggeration to call it the scenery of Edo.

1. Introducing color expression to tsumugi, once a fabric for daily life.

Tsumugi weaving originally came from cloth woven with mobile phones as personal clothing in rural villages across Japan. It was a durable and simple textile designed for daily life. Since modern times, it has been the work of dyeing and weaving artists who brought color expression and personal aesthetic sensibility into tsumugi, pioneering its artistic value. Fukumi Shimura can be considered one of the representatives of this movement.

Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1924, Shimura began full-scale weaving using plant dyes and tsumugi thread at the age of 31 under the guidance of his mother, Yutaka Ono. In 1957, he exhibited for the first time at the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition and was selected. The following year, in 1958, he presented 'Autumn Mist,' which used only indigo as a dye and received the Encouragement Award.

2. Blue Born from Thread—Indigo Expression in 'Autumn Mist'

In typical indigo dyeing, the fabric itself is soaked in dye solution to produce blue, but in Shimura's tsumugi weaving, the silk threads are first dyed with indigo, and those threads are woven together as warp and weft threads. In other words, blue is not a color added later to the fabric surface, but rather an individual thread that forms the elements that make up the fabric itself. The contrast of indigo shades, stripes, grids, and combinations with other plant dyes—the intersection of warp and weft threads creates a color expression different from that of a monochrome dye.
Shimura cannot be called an 'indigo-dyed artist.' The field recognized as a Living National Treasure is strictly 'tsumugi weaving,' and he also uses madder, kariyasu, purple root, and safflower as well. Even so, indigo was an indispensable color in Shimura's art, appearing repeatedly in his representative works such as 'Autumn Mist,' 'Hansomito,' 'Moonrise,' and 'Wind and Dew.'

3. New Possibilities for Tsumugi Weaving Demonstrated by the Living National Treasure

In 1990, Fukumi Shimura was recognized as a holder of the Important Intangible Cultural Property 'Tsumugi weaving,' a so-called Living National Treasure. In 2014, he received the Kyoto Prize, and the following year, in 2015, he was awarded the Order of Culture.
The core of this evaluation lies not only in faithfully preserving traditional techniques, but also in pioneering color expressions that had never been discovered before, within the tradition of tsumugi as a material found in rural life and plant dyes such as indigo. There is an innovation Fukumi Shimura brought to tsumugi weaving there.

4. A place of learning called Arsusimla, passing on to the next generation

Fukumi Shimura's work goes beyond leaving behind works.
In 2013, at the age of 88, Shimura, together with his daughter Yoko and grandson Shoji, opened 'Arsu Shimura,' an art education center in Okazaki, Kyoto. This school is not just about teaching dyeing and weaving techniques. It is conceived as a place to experience the connection between nature and humans, the beauty of handicrafts, and the underlying philosophies and philosophies. In class, students dye threads with seasonal plants, weave with mobile phones, and complete individual works. In addition to practical skills, annual themed lectures and extracurricular lessons are also held, providing opportunities to learn about culture and philosophy under themes such as 'observing words' and 'honing appreciation.'