刺繡

About this photo

This photograph shows craftspeople doing embroidery. It appears in Kyoto Meishocho (Album of Famous Places in Kyoto), published in 1907 (Meiji 40), and the English caption on the page describes it as the arts and crafts of Kyoto. A photograph of Nishijin weaving appears on the same page.

Kyoto embroidery is called kyonui. It is said to have begun when the capital Heian-kyo was founded and a government office that employed embroiderers, the Nuibe no Tsukasa, was set up to decorate clothing. Over the centuries it adorned the dress of each age: the many-layered junihitoe robes of the Heian period, the jackets of Kamakura-period warriors, Noh costumes of the Muromachi period and kosode robes of the Momoyama period. From the Meiji era on, new uses spread, with items such as fukusa (silk gift cloths), wall hangings and embroidered pictures.

With a single needle, colorful silk threads, and gold and silver threads, embroiderers stitch designs onto silk or linen. Of the roughly 30 techniques used today, 15 are officially recognized as traditional craft techniques. Kyonui is a nationally designated traditional craft, and a wide range of items are made, from kimono and obi sashes to festival goods and framed pieces.

Glossary