Interview with Ms. Mieko Taira, Chair of The Kijoka Bashofu Cooperative Association
The history of Bashofu is old, it is believed to date back to as early as the 13th or 14th centuries. Not only was it widely used for summer garments, but the highest quality Bashofu was also used as payment for taxes and had an important diplomatic role as tribute given by the Ryukyu Kingdom to China, the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese Shogunate. It is clear from the literature and presence of Bashofu in museums across the world that it was a prized major export.
Bashofu is a cloth woven with fibers from the plant known in Okinawa as “ito-basho,” a relative of the banana plant. As a fabric, it is airy and smooth, yet glossy and supple. In the subtropical climate of Okinawa, it has long been a popular material for everything from casual clothing to formal wear.
Unlike the bananas we eat, the fruit of the ito-basho plant is mostly inedible due to its many large seeds. Ito-basho is most valuable for the fibers within its stalk, and if a plant bears fruit the finest fibers cannot be harvested. The plants must be carefully cultivated and fertilized over a period of three years to ensure the softness and quality of the fibers. This includes regular pruning that ensures the stalks have a uniform thickness from root to tip. The plants are harvested from October to February, during which the fields must be checked daily to determine which plants are ready to be harvested. Once the plant is cut down, the layers of the stalk must be separated and processed right away. It is not hard to see why securing the raw materials is the most difficult step in creating Bashofu.
From the late 1800s until the Second World War, it was common for families in Okinawa to grow a few ito-basho plants among their other crops and make banana fiber cloth as an additional source of income. However, due to the food shortage during and after the war, the cultivation of these plants and production of Bashofu dwindled to a halt.
During her time studying weaving and dyeing on the Japanese mainland, Toshiko Taira was encouraged by her teacher Kichinosuke Tonomura to read “The Story of Bashofu” (Bashofu Monogatari) by Soetsu Yanagi, founder of the Japanese folk craft (mingei) movement. This inspired her to return to her hometown of Kijoka to revive Bashofu as a craft. She invited other local women to join in the effort and in addition to training others in the necessary skills for creating Bashofu, she also endeavored to increase the commercial value of the cloth, streamline production, and develop new products. Currently, these efforts have been taken over by her daughter-in-law, Mieko Taira, who is also doing research on production techniques and the history of Bashofu, as well as working to train others and reconstruct historical costumes.
Carefully tended ito-basho plants are the first thing necessary in making the fine thread used to weave beautiful Bashofu.
For this interview, we were able to observe the harvesting process, starting from cutting down the fully grown plants. First, we were surprised to see how much moisture was inside of the freshly cut stalks (photos 2 and 3). Each stalk has many layers like an onion, but our untrained eyes could not tell which layers were hard or soft. The fibers for weaving can only be found in the outer third of each individual layer, so each usable layer is split in two and the top layer is set aside. The rest is returnd to the soil. Within one plant, most of the usable layers are only appropriate for making ropes or coarse fabrics. Only a small fraction of the plant can produce the fibers necessary for making high-quality kimono.
Not only do the plants require three years of care before they can be harvested, but soil quality, humidity and sunlight all play a role in cultivating a reliable field of ito-basho. Mieko tells us that the ability to determine the right timing for harvesting can only be learned through experience.
After the harvested plant fiber is washed through boiling in an alkaline bath, bamboo tools are used for the next step. We were able to try this for ourselves (4th photo). We pulled ribbons of fiber through the bamboo tool multiple times to scrape off the outer layers, revealing the shimmering, pale yellow fibers within. This is difficult to do with a consistent amount of pressure, and beginners like us were not able to produce fibers uniform enough to use for the following step. After drying, the fibers are split into fine, even widths and are tied together to make a long thread. This alone is a daunting task, but due to this fiber’s sensitivity to dehydration, there are additional complications that make it more challenging to weave than cotton or silk.
In order to educate people in these skills, The Bashofu Preservation Society of Kijoka and The Bashofu Cooperative Association continue to recruit and train people from the local area through the Ogimi Village Bashofu Center which houses the studio we visited. As Bashofu is inseparable from the spirit, history, and climate of Okinawa, Mieko tells us that it was a natural decision for these organizations to focus on training people within the community. Mastering the necessary skills takes many years, they look to recruit apprentices who are willing to dedicate their lives to making Bashofu in Kijoka.
The number of ito-basho fields is now a fraction of what it once was, and there are many abandoned fields as well. Decreased demand for kimono, the shrinking and aging population of the local region, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic all pose challenges to the preservation of Bashofu. In “The Story of Bashofu,” Soetsu Yanagi writes, "It is a miracle that such a beautiful thing is still being made." The Bashofu Preservation Society and the Bashofu Cooperative Association led by Mieko Taira will continue to work to overcome the many difficulties that threaten Bashofu so that this miracle can continue. While we may not be able to make a big difference, learning more about Bashofu has us at amirisu thinking about what we might be able to do to help, too.