Traditional craft
Kiryu Ori
桐生織
Rich, patterned silk from Kiryu in Gunma, a weaving town that supplied Tokugawa Ieyasu's battle banners and still mixes old looms with new technology.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 14 October 1977
- Type
- Woven textiles
- Region
- Kanto
- Official name in Japanese
- 桐生織
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 桐生市、太田市、みどり市 栃木県／足利市
Jacquard silk with a sense of design
Kiryu Ori is yarn-dyed jacquard silk made in small batches in many varieties, known for stylish designs and patterns. The threads are twisted, dyed and wound before weaving, and the crepe called omeshi is woven with tightly twisted weft and then given its crinkled texture. It is made in Kiryu, Ota and Midori in Gunma and in Ashikaga in Tochigi.
Banners for the shogun
Legend says weaving came to Kiryu about 1,300 years ago with Princess Shirataki, a lady of the imperial court who married into the town. At the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu flew banners of Kiryu white silk, and in the early 19th century Kiryu was weaving gold brocade under the shogunate's protection.
Kiryu's textiles became a world-class industry because they made new technology their own.
Good to know
- Ask to see omeshi crepe: its tightly twisted weft gives a fine crinkled surface you can feel with your fingertips.
- Neckties, scarves and small bags in Kiryu silk are good-value gifts that show off the patterns well.
Questions travellers ask
What is Kiryu Ori known for?
Yarn-dyed jacquard silk in many styles, with refined patterns, made in small batches.
How old is weaving in Kiryu?
Local legend dates it to about 1,300 years ago, and records show silk from the area was sent to the court in the early 8th century.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Japan's old schools: where a nation learned to read
- Kakaa Tenka: the women behind Gunma's silk
- Kasamashiko: the sibling pottery towns of Kasama and Mashiko
- Mount Takao and Hachioji, the city of silk
- Nasunogahara: the future that Meiji nobles dreamed of
- Sato-numa: the village marshes of Tatebayashi
- Utsunomiya: the underground labyrinth of Oya stone
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.