Traditional craft
Hakata Ori
博多織
Fukuoka's famous silk, brought from Song China about 750 years ago and best known for obi sashes that make a crisp squeak as they are tied.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 14 June 1976
- Type
- Woven textiles
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 博多織
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 福岡市、筑紫野市、大野城市他、佐賀県／唐津市他、大分県
The obi that squeaks
Hakata Ori is a yarn-dyed silk woven in plain or figured weave. Hakata obi are easy to tie and hold firm, and the little kyu-kyu squeak of the silk as you tighten one is a signature of the cloth. It is made in Fukuoka and nearby cities in Fukuoka, and also in parts of Saga and Oita.
Brought back from China
About 750 years ago, the Hakata merchant Mitsuda Yazaemon travelled to Song China with the monk Shoichi Kokushi and brought weaving techniques home. The classic pattern uses Buddhist motifs: the tokko, a vajra that breaks through worldly desires, and the hanazara flower dish. In the Edo period the lord Kuroda Nagamasa sent the cloth to the shogun every year, so the style became known as Kenjo Hakata, Hakata for presentation.
Good to know
- Ties, small cases and card holders with the Kenjo pattern make light gifts with a clear story.
- The Hakata Textile Industry Association has a workshop visitors can watch, about a 10-minute walk west of Hakata Station.
Questions travellers ask
What is Kenjo Hakata?
The classic Hakata Ori pattern, named because the Kuroda lords presented it to the shogunate every year in the Edo period.
What do the Hakata Ori motifs mean?
The tokko is a Buddhist vajra said to break through worldly desires, and the hanazara is a dish used to scatter flowers as an offering.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.