Softener is a towels’ worst enemy

Hotman Co., Ltd., founded in 1951, is now one of the few towel companies left operating in the Aume area, famous for bedding, futons and cushions, including za-buton meaning “futon for sitting” in Japanese. Hotman’s sewing plants and its main office are located right across the street from Kosoen Studio, an indigo dyeing shop. Cotton-spinning is the only function that Hotman doesn’t own; from weaving to selling, it makes sure that all production stages operate in Japan for the best quality.

I could not help wondering what exactly are characteristics of towels that define the quality. Is it raw materials, cotton? Does organic cotton make finished products automatically feel better? The answer is NO.

It is work involved in the production process that makes all the difference in the quality of a towel. If a towel is manufactured in the same way, the final feel and texture will be the same.

Japanese Indigo Dye--The Clothes Dyed Indigo

One of the characteristics of natural indigo blue dyed items is long-term color resistance as well as robustness. However, by wearing and washing repeatedly, though it may happen unnoticeably, it certainly gets worn out and loses its color. Yet the difference between the synthetic dyes and plant dyes like natural indigo blue dye is that although it may leave colors in washing water, it rarely leaves stains on other items. And although that tends to happen the first few times items are washed, stains can be easily washed off with soap.

As organic indigo-blue is from plants, their products should not be washed with alkaline synthetic detergent with surface-activating agent; lye from wood ash as used before is best suited to maintain its quality. In terms of reducing the ecological footprint of the product life cycle, indigo-blue products are thoroughly designed for the “use” and “waste” stages.

“There is no other cloth like it. It does not lose color or wear out,” says the plant manager with a smile. With the time spent by repeatedly using a traditional craft like an indigo-blue dyed cloth, it adds charm. Aging for such product means accumulated beauty.

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Japanese Indigo Dye--Indigo Blue in the Making

Indigo dyeing was practiced and a color known as indigo blue or Japan blue was extracted from varieties of plants with indigo pigment in many parts of the World through distinct methods. In Japan, the color is acquired through a natural process of fermentation and oxidation from a plant called Polygonum tinctorium.

First, the leaves are separated from the stems and left for about 4 months until becoming leaf soil, then mixed with water, charcoal lye, sake (Japanese rice wine) and wheat bran, which you can imagine looks just like oatmeal.



At the controlled temperature of 25C, it is left for further fermentation. The indigo blue dye has the color rather closer to brown. An indigo dye artisan knows if the dye has the right alkaline pH and ready by just looking at it! Then soaking in the dye and exposing to the air for are repeated for an average of 5 to 6 times, even more than 10 times for darker color. It is when the dye is exposed to the air that the beautiful indigo blue appears gradually.



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Japanese Indigo Dye--Indigo Blue Is Bluer than Indigo

“Indigo blue is bluer than indigo” is a Japanese saying meaning that education and unstinting efforts are very important for one’s success, making an analogy to a long, difficult process involved to create indigo blue dye from indigo plants.

Mr. Murata is the third generation owner of a dye factory and also the founder of Kosoen Studio specialized in traditional indigo dyeing. While the color Indigo blue and even similar color shadings can be easily and cost-efficiently obtained with synthetic dye, Kosoen Studio chooses to adhere to a traditional, rather complicated method to express the hidden colors of indigo plants, which Murata explains as “the ultimate ecological way.”

This is the entrance of Studio Kosoen. Ome has flourished once through textile production. Yet Studio Kosoen is one of a few companies left in the area, which still runs businesses in textile industry.



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