Iro-awase (Color Harmony) Stole

Plant-dyed · Hand-woven · Atelier Shimura

Color harmony from nature
Atelier Shimura was established to carry forward the artistic spirit and techniques of Fukumi Shimura, a Living National Treasure and essayist. The Iro-awase (Color Harmony) Stole is designed to let you fully experience the delicate combinations of natural hues — threads dyed with meticulous care around specific themes, hand-woven into stoles that work as versatile accents across seasons and styles.

Plata — The Cherry Tree Here
Soft cherry blossom pink meets clear madder red, grounded by the subdued tone of alder. Just wrapping it around you brings brightness to your spirit and appearance.

The dye here comes not from cherry petals, but from the trunk and branches in winter — glossy, reddish, and full of presence. This stole expresses not the fleeting nature of the flower, but the unwavering core of the tree. The title is inspired by the Curutchet House, a clinic and residence designed by Le Corbusier in La Plata, Argentina.

Kokuu — Grain Rain
Green cannot be dyed directly from a single plant. The green of Kokuu appears by layering indigo over threads dyed with miscanthus. The gray is dyed from plum branches — and when used as the warp with green as the weft, the indigo emerges as a "woven color," a fascinating visual effect.

The darker parts of the gray are dyed with crepe myrtle. Japanese grays have such a rich range that they were traditionally described as "48 browns and 100 grays." Kokuu is a term from the 24 solar terms of the Japanese calendar — the rain that falls on the earth, embodying prayers for a bountiful harvest.

Gencho — The Swallows
A powerful yellow emerged from the lush green leaves of wild carrot growing near the Saga Shakado temple. Paired with oak gray — a clear, straight "supporting actor" color that makes other colors come alive — the result is a stole that feels both refreshing and cohesive.

Gencho Itaru — "The Swallows Arrive" — is a micro-season in the Japanese calendar marking the return of swallows from warmer lands. The fine stripes and simple, modern palette blend naturally with any season and suit sporty attire equally well.

Hanamomo — Peach Flower
One usually imagines deep, rich tones when thinking of indigo — but the pale blue of Hanamomo is also indigo. In a dyeing process that takes about two months, this color emerged only when fermentation in the vat calmed, allowing only a small quantity to be dyed. This stole is made from those rare threads.

Inspired by the Japanese micro-season "Momo Hajimete Warau" — peach buds opening after the dormant winter — the bold grid pattern and lively color combination lift the spirits. A fresh woven color born from weaving cool indigo with warm madder, softened by beige from mulberry and vetch. Limited to 20 pieces due to the rarity of the indigo used.

Mangekyo — Akane (Kaleidoscope — Madder)
A design that expresses stripes and checks through color boundaries — lines that appear to melt into one another. When wrapped around the neck, the boundaries visible from various angles shimmer like a kaleidoscope. Gradients of madder red with accents of pale yellow shift their expression airily as the light changes.