Kojima Senshoku

Sashiko weave is a fabric in which the warp threads are woven into an uneven pattern by floating the warp threads as in the manual stitching technique.

It is a durable special fabric used for kendo wear, and has a deep and wonderful indigo color dyed by the kase-dyeing method, in which the threads are dyed before weaving.

These small accessories and cute teddy bears are made from Sashiko weave fabrics and are easy to incorporate into your daily life. 

When you get something you really like, you can use it for a long time.

It is a good thing about indigo and Japanese fabrics that if you treat them with care, their charm will grow with time.

They value the quality and warmth of handcraftsmanship that spares no effort, and they offer items that make use of good old traditions, as well as items that are comfortably arranged to fit the current era. 

Kojima Senshoku was founded by Kumahei Kojima in 1872, and has been engaged in "dyeing" and "weaving" for 150 years. Originally, the company produced indigo-dyed fabrics as a side job for farmers, and later became a corporation.

At that time, the company's main products were small yarn-dyed fabrics used for farm work loincloths. 

In Bushu (the northern area of Saitama prefecture), indigo dyeing is done by making a skein (a bundle of threads) and dyeing it.

The woven fabric has a fine striped pattern and is called "Aojima" (blue stripes), which has been loved by many.

The company has been sticking to the kase-dyeing method since its establishment, and has continued to preserve the tradition in pursuit of deep colors brought out by retaining the sense of manual work.

In recent years, they have been focusing on producing original fabrics while introducing new techniques.

The northern area of Saitama prefecture was once known as Bushu, where indigo and cotton had been cultivated since the Edo period.

It began with housewives of farmers spinning yarn, indigo dyeing, and weaving during the off-season after the harvest, and eventually began to be bought and sold in the market, and then converted to a full-time indigo dyeing business.

In the Meiji period, sewing machines were introduced to replace hand sewing, and the production of tabi socks in this area grew dramatically, with indigo-dyed fabric and white cotton fabric and sewing becoming core industries.

At its peak, there were more than 200 indigo dyeing shop, and the area was said to be the second largest indigo production area after Tokushima Prefecture. 

Eventually, demand shrank with the spread of synthetic fibers. However, the deep colors, durability, and density of Bushu's indigo-dyed fabrics have kept them alive for use in kendo wear, and Bushu continues to maintain its tradition and value as Japan's only production center for kendo wear materials.