Interview with Mr. Touma Chinen, president of The Chinen Bingata Research Institute
Okinawa has a variety of textile traditions, but Bingata is the only dyeing technique. Bingata differs in many ways from other native dyeing traditions in Japan. We visited the Chinen Bingata Research Institute, one of the Bingata Sansoke (“three great Bingata families”) with four hundred years of history, and spoke with president Touma Chinen about this unique art.
While Bashofu was widely made and worn by the general public, Bingata kimono, especially vividly dyed designs with multiple patterns, were worn only by the royal family and wealthy clans of the Ryukyu Kingdom. When the official painter of the royal government created a new design, it would be sent to one of the Bingata Sansoke and dyed exclusively for the royal family and nobility. The decisive difference between Ryukyu Bingata and other dyeing styles in Japan is that it uses pigments made from mineral powders (many of which were only available through international trade) rather than dyes. Many of the minerals were rare and costly, so only members of the royal family were allowed to wear yellow and the brightest reds. Ryukyu Bingata also inspired the understated Edo Bingata in Tokyo and the ornate Kyoto Bingata, but both of these methods use dyes instead of pigments. Ryukyu Bingata features beautiful, vibrant colors that can compete with the dazzling sunlight of Okinawa. The stunning red, yellow, blue, and green shades owe their brilliance to the use of pigments.
Bingata made in Okinawa can be recognized at a glance not only because of the colors, but also because the motifs used differ from those typically found in Japanese textiles. While there are many Bingata designs based on popular patterns from mainland Japan, Touma tells us that there are also patterns that were influenced by Chinese designs. In this tradition, designs that have been handed down since before World War II are known as classical patterns. It would be taboo to mix seasonal motifs together in a classical pattern on the mainland, but Bingata is unique in that it is not uncommon for designs to have various seasonal motifs like autumn leaves, cherry blossoms, and snowflakes all mixed together. The Chinen family maintains a collection of around 2,000 designs, including many of their own unique classical patterns as well as modern patterns created after the war. The handmade stencils for each design are used in combination with a resist paste that damages them over time, so they must be periodically replaced with new ones once they begin to show wear.
Another feature of Bingata is that all of the work is completed in the same studio. Designs were created by the official royal painter in the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom, but since then the entire process, from creating the design and preparing the stencil, to the multiple phases of dyeing and finally washing the completed fabric, has all been done in-house. Making tools such as brushes and knives is yet another indispensable task performed by artisans in the studio. In general, dyeing traditions in Japan tend to utilize a distinct division of labor for the various stages of production, but a strength of Ryukyu Bingata is that it is easy to pass on skills to others and respond to changes in demand because everything is done in-house. This may be a big reason why Bingata is currently flourishing in Okinawa.
The Bingata dyeing process first begins with drawing a design and carving the stencil. Touma and his wife are mainly in charge of creating these stencils. Instead of pulling the knife along the design, they cut out the detailed patterns by perforating along the lines with a small, pointed knife. The finished design is transferred onto the fabric with a colored resist paste that makes it easy to see where the paste has been applied. The paste usually dries in about half a day, but humidity can slow the process. They tell us that winter is the ideal season for this step because the paste dries faster in the lower humidity.
Next, pigments mixed with gojiru, a liquid derived from soybeans that works to bond the pigments to the fibers, are applied to the fabric. Two brushes are used, one to first apply the color and another with shorter bristles to work the pigments deep into the fabric. The pigments spoil quickly once they are mixed with gojiru, so each person uses one color at a time, completing all necessary sections in that color for the entire length of fabric to make sure the mixed pigments are used efficiently. After the first layers of color have been applied, the next step is adding depth through shading work called kumadori. In this stage, darker or opposite colors are blended onto the fabric to give a three-dimensional effect. Coloring and shading take two to three days for an obi (kimono sash). This stage of the dyeing process is a whirlwind of activity as usually everyone in the studio works together on a length of fabric, each in charge of one color at a time.
After steaming and washing the fabric, the resist paste is applied once more, this time over top of the dyed pattern. Next, the fabric is treated using dyes or indigo to create the background color. At the Chinen studio, they use Ryukyu indigo and even ferment their own natural dye, sukumo, in-house. Sukumo is sensitive to cold temperatures, but we’re not surprised to hear that in the warm climate of Okinawa, there is usually no need to warm the dye with a heater.
Every step of the Bingata dyeing process has been done by hand since ancient times, and no part of the process can be automated. The value of this tradition has been recognized anew and the studio we visited is quite busy. As we watch young artisans working enthusiastically, many of whom joined the studio after studying textile arts in college, I can sense that there is even more potential for Bingata in the future.
We were told that long ago, a wide mix of techniques beyond what are now considered the main methods, stencil dyeing (used for kimono and obi) and free-hand dyeing (used for things like wrapping cloths), were used in this craft. Knowing this, it is easy to see Bingata as having a foundation that is perpetually able to support new innovations and ideas. We cannot wait to see how Bingata continues to develop in the future.