Nakamura

Nihonbashi Qilin Mon Mandala

From 1923 to 2006, Nakamura operated an Shikkaiya in Kanda, Tokyo, offering services such as kimono dyeing, washing, and tailoring. Shikkaiya is a coordinator of craftsmen who take care of the division of labor process for kimono and fabrics.

In 2014, we began planning, designing, manufacturing, and producing Noren (traditional Japanese curtains) together with like-minded makers and creators as a modern Shikkaiya.

Through its business activities, Nakamura will challenge to update Noren, propose diverse Japanese arts and crafts, and introduce to the world the culture that Japan has nurtured over its long history.

Nihonbashi Qilin Mon

NAKAMURA Inc./ Shin Nakamura × Kyogen Inc./Shoryu Hatoba

This item is a collaboration between the noren producer, dyeing director, and Nakamura Inc. representative Shin Nakamura and the designer and artist Shoryu Hatoba.

It pairs a noren curtain featuring a Qilin design with a Mon Mandala noren, where the design is based on the story of how the mon was created. The combination of the Qilin design, produced using a traditional dyeing technique, and the more modern Mon Mandala print draws on the strengths of both styles. This noren combines traditional and modern elements of the family crest and dyeing techniques.