Traditional craft
Ryukyu Bingata
琉球びんがた
Okinawa's bright, stencil-dyed cloth, the islands' only traditional dyed textile, once worn as festive dress by women of the royal and samurai families.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 31 May 1984
- Type
- Dyed textiles
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 琉球びんがた
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 那覇市、宜野湾市、浦添市、糸満市、豊見城市
Colours as bright as the southern sun
Okinawa is famous for weaving, but Ryukyu Bingata is its one traditional dyed cloth. Makers hand-dye cotton, silk, hemp and banana-fibre cloth with pigments and plant dyes. There are two colour styles: bright, many-coloured bingata and indigo-dyed eshigata. It is made in Naha, Ginowan, Urasoe, Itoman and Tomigusuku in Okinawa.
Stencils carved on tofu
There are two ways to apply the design. In katazuke, a stencil is used. In tsutsugaki, paste is piped freehand from a cone over a drawn design, then the colours are added.
- Stencils are washi laminated with persimmon tannin, laid over rukuju (dried tofu) and carved with a small knife.
- Bingata carvers use tsukibori, pushing the blade straight down rather than pulling it, which gives soft, rounded lines.
- Colours are brushed into the pattern, then shaded with kumadori to give depth.
A royal cloth that survived the war
Bingata goes back to the mid-15th century and was made under the Ryukyu court's protection, borrowing from Chinese stencil methods and Kyo Yuzen. An early 19th-century history records Ryukyu bingata as a famous trade good in the markets of Fujian in China. World War II nearly wiped it out, but preservation societies formed after the war revived the craft.
Good to know
- Bingata wall hangings, tote bags and small cloths are colourful gifts that are easy to bring home from Naha.
- Look for tropical motifs like lilies and bougainvillea, painted in the bright colours that make bingata stand out.
Questions travellers ask
What is the difference between bingata and eshigata?
Bingata uses many bright colours; eshigata is dyed in shades of Ryukyu indigo.
What is rukuju?
Dried tofu used as a cutting base under the stencil while it is carved.
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.