A Hand-Stitched Temari Tradition from Kagawa
Sanuki Kagari Temari are hand-stitched textile spheres made in Kagawa Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, by the Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Society. Cotton thread dyed with plants is wound over a core of rice husks, then stitched with kagari, a technique specific to the region. Of the roughly fifteen temari-producing regions in Japan, Sanuki stands apart for the depth of its material choices and the density of craft within each sphere. Alongside one-of-a-kind temari for display, the society makes small scented temari, and in 1987 the craft was designated a traditional craft of Kagawa Prefecture.
What Is Sanuki Kagari Temari?
Sanuki Kagari Temari are hand-stitched textile spheres originating in Kagawa Prefecture — historically known as the province of Sanuki. During the Edo period, Sanuki was renowned for three products: sugar, salt, and cotton. These were collectively called the "Three Whites of Sanuki." It is this regional cotton tradition that forms the material foundation of Sanuki Kagari Temari.
Cotton threads dyed with plants and trees are wound over a core of rice husks, then stitched with a technique specific to the Sanuki region — called kagari. The result is a sphere unlike those produced elsewhere: quieter in tone, denser in feel, and grounded in a set of material principles that trace directly back to the land.
These temari were originally crafted by the everyday hands of Sanuki women — not court objects, but folk objects. That origin shapes everything about them.
What Makes Sanuki Kagari Temari Different
Japan's major temari traditions — Kaga Temari from Kanazawa, Honjo Goten-mari from Akita — each reflect their own regional character. Sanuki Kagari Temari stands apart not in visual flair, but in the consistency of its material principles.
01 Rice husk core
Rice husks wrapped in thin paper, shaped into a perfect sphere by hand — no measuring instruments. Invisible from outside, but felt in the weight and density of the finished object.
02 Cotton thread
Where Kaga Temari uses silk for its lustrous sheen, Sanuki uses cotton — matte, soft, and rooted in the region's Edo-period cotton industry. The quiet texture is a deliberate choice, not a limitation.
03 Plant-based dyes
Madder, indigo, kariyasu, sappanwood, chestnut, onion — and combinations layered over one another. Over 120 thread colors are produced. Colors shift depending on the light.
04 The kagari technique
The sphere is divided into sections — North Pole, South Pole, equator — using guide threads. Patterns are built by passing thread from line to line, within the structural constraints of the kagari method. Five years to learn the basics. Over ten to master.
Where other traditions lean toward brilliance and celebratory color, Sanuki Kagari Temari is built on restraint: matte cotton over glossy silk, plant color over chemical dye, rice husks over foam. The materials are consistent with one another — and consistent with the land they come from.
Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Society
The Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Society was founded in 1983 by Kazuo Araki, a Kagawa prefectural government official, who discovered the nearly-extinct Sanuki cotton temari tradition through his work in folk craft revival. Working with contacts at the Matsumoto Folk Art Museum in Nagano, he sought instruction in the kagari technique and secured plant-dyed cotton thread through a dyeing research institute in Ehime Prefecture — gradually breathing new life into methods that had nearly disappeared. Four years later, in 1987, Sanuki Kagari Temari received official designation as a traditional craft of Kagawa Prefecture.
The current representative, Eiko Araki, came to temari as a metal engraver. She began assisting her mother-in-law with the craft, found herself drawn deeper into it, and at forty left engraving entirely. She has led the Society since, with around 150 members continuing the work. Under her direction, the Society has shifted its focus from preservation alone toward active transmission — running professional training courses and beginner workshops, keeping the craft alive rather than merely documented.
She says the following.
"The world of temari is deep, but I think it is better to have a wide entrance. I don't only want to preserve — I want young people to see temari as something fresh and alive."
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