Traditional craft
Shuri Ori
首里織
The elegant textiles of Shuri, the old royal capital of the Ryukyu kingdom in Naha, including weaves that only the royal family and nobles were allowed to wear.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 27 April 1983
- Type
- Woven textiles
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 首里織
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 那覇市、中頭郡西原町、島尻郡南風原町
Cloth fit for a king
Shuri Ori is not one weave but many, from figured cloth to ikat, all refined in colour and pattern. Two of them, hanakura-ori and doton-ori, were reserved for the royal family and nobles and woven only in Shuri. It is made in Naha, Nishihara and Haebaru in Okinawa.
Silk, cotton, ramie and banana fibre
Weavers mainly use silk, along with cotton, ramie and banana fibre, dyed with Ryukyu indigo, fukugi bark, tekachi and other plants as well as modern dyes. The traditional types include Shuri kasuri, Shuri hanaui, doton-ori, hanakura-ori and Shuri minsa.
Woven for the court
In the 14th and 15th centuries the Ryukyu kingdom traded widely with Southeast Asia and China and learned their weaving. In Shuri, home of the royal palace, the court's designers drew patterns in a royal design book, and the finest cloth went to nobles, samurai families and as gifts abroad.
Good to know
- Combine a look at Shuri Ori with a visit to Shuri Castle Park, the old royal palace in the same district.
- Table runners and obi are the easiest Shuri Ori pieces to bring home.
Questions travellers ask
What is hanakura-ori?
A Shuri weave once reserved for the Ryukyu royal family and nobles, woven only in Shuri.
Where is Shuri Ori made?
In the Shuri area of Naha, and in Nishihara and Haebaru, Okinawa.
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.