"Kokura- ori (weaving)" is a strong, smooth cotton weaving with more warp than weft which had been produced continuously since the Edo Period in the region of Buzen Kokura (Kitakyushu City). Originally,the fabric was mainly woven by the women of the Ogasawara Clan to create the hakama　kilt and obi (sash )for the samurai. The　women cultivated the cotton, spun the cotton into threads and wove cloths that came to be prized nationwide as special products of the region. Because there is more warp in the weaving, the woven fabric has the expression of vertical stripes.

Ieyasu Tokugawa, a warlord and founder of the Edo Shogunate, cherished his jimbaori (battle surcoat) made of this Kokura-ori and it has been preserved as one of his personal articles. In the Tokugawa Museum, "Shima (Striped) Kokura Haori Coat" is on display as a Kyogen play costume representing the middle Edo Period (18th century).

Vertical stripes have a sharp and clean expression. A third dimensional world quality created through the color tones and the leather like texture give the woven fabric a distinct flavor that is like no other.

During the Meiji Period, in the era of *"Cultural Enlightenment" (*when Japanese people as a whole enthusiastically adopted Western culture and ideas in the pursuit of what was perceived as cultural enlightenment), solid grey colored fabric called "shimo-furi" was created out of the Kokura-ori and made into summer uniform for school boys. The fabric kept the distinct characteristics of the hakama kilt. It was sold under the name of Kokura Cotton and Kokura Clothing and the sales expanded nationwide. It became so popular, they could not produce enough of it and similar products began to be produced in the regions of Bichu Kokura and Tosa Kokura.

They continued to produce Kokura-ori for over 300 years but unfortunately it disappeared in the early Showa Period (Showa Period:1926-1989). I found a piece of the fabric of Kokura-ori by chance and through experimenting through trial and error with it for two years, I was able to revive it in 1984.I dyed the cotton thread with natural plant dyes, made the threads thinner than the original, increased the number of threads and wove them by hand to recreate the weaving into what was more suited to the present age. I have been introducing Kokura-ori mainly as obi (kimono sash) in such exhibitions as the Japan Arts and Crafts Exhibitions and at regional exhibitions nation-wide. I may have named my products "Kokura-Shima" because I am very attracted to the expression of stripes in the Kokura-ori tradition.

Noriko Tsuiki

Kokura Chijimi is an extremely thin and light fabric that is perfect for a summer kimono, a fabric that is the extreme opposite of Kokura-ori. I tried using hard twisted threads of silk or cotton to recreate this fabric and succeeded in 1994.
These fabrics of two extreme opposites had been produced in Kokura as traditional arts and crafts.

Akinori Saita,Curator of Kitakyushu Museum of Natural history and Human History

Kokura-ori was a typical cotton textile of the Buzen Kokura region. The fabric features durable and smooth material of woven cloth, and is made using three or four threads as fine as silk, twisted together to form a warp when woven. Kokuraori was already known in the early Edo period. It is said that Shogun leyasu Tokugawa regularly relied on the material, and that he wore a lined haori (traditional harf-coat) of Kokura-ori when hunting with his falcon. It has also been reported that many of the fabric items and wrapping cloths found among leyasu's mementos are made of Kokura-ori

During the early Edo period, cotton farming spread throughout Japan as cotton textiles were introduced to growing popularity among the general public. Cotton textiles were not viewed as particularly precious, but Kokura-ori and Kokura cotton were nevertheless held in high esteem due to the high quality of these woven fabrics, far exceeding that of cotton cloth from other countries.

In the mid-Edo period, Kokura-ori began to be used as clothing material, in most cases for winter clothes. However, when a type of better-insulating leather was introduced for winter wear, Kokura-ori began to find new uses for example, in hakama (a type of Japanese kilt or men), in thongs for setta (Japanese sandals), and in the obi (sashes) used by samurai.

Kokura-ori is colorfast and durable, with increased luster after washing; the fabric is also suitable for indigo dyering. Moreover, its affordable price, aesthetic appeal, and versatility sparked demand throughout the country.

Most Kokura-ori production was entrusted to women of the Kokura Domain as moonlighting work. This production reached a peak during the kaei period (1848-1853). At the end of Edo Period, however, the Kokura Domain had failed to introduce a system of monopolization in Kokura-ori production, and during the chaos of the area's prolonged battle against the Choshu Domain, families in the region dispersed, and the production enviroment rapidly deteriorated.

The Kokura region entered the Meiji Period suffering from the aftermath of the war; nothing remained of the heyday of Kokura-ori. Kokura-ori barely remained in existence, thanks to a handful of weavers, but production quantities were low and other prefectures soon began to enter the Kokura-ori niche market. Although a "Kokura-ori" company was established to counteract these new producers, the original Kokura-ori producers disappeared due to the financial crisis following the Japanese-Sino War.

Ninety year after its virtual extinction, the briliant shapes of Kokura-ori were born again through the sole efforts of Ms. Noriko Tsuiki. It must have been a daunting task to bring this tradition back to life, with a great deal of groping blindly in search of the few remaining resources that could provide details of the craft. Thanks to her tremendous achivement, interest in the Kokura-ori tradition has been rekindled, with new groups taking Ms. Tsuiki's lead, offering hope for the future of the craft.

Kokura-ori and Kokura-chijimi in Japanese literature

(◼Kokura-ori [obi / hakama] ◼Kokura-obi [School uniform] ◼Kokura-chijimi [kimono]

"I Am a Cat" by Soseki Natsume (1905)
...The man looks like a student, very studious, parting his hair tightry on the side, and wearing a cotton-crested haori (harf coat) and Kokura striped kimono.

...Judging by his appearance, he seems to be a second-rate actor, but as he is bothering to wear a stiff while ceremonial Kokura hakama (ed. note: kilt), he must be an apprentice of the swordsman kenkichi Sakakibara.

"Vita Sexualis" by Ogai Mori(1909)
...Most students are in their twenties, and the youngest are 16 or 17 years old. Most of them wear Kokura hakama and dark blue tabi (ed. note: Japanese socks). You will be called a coward if you don't pull your kimono sleeves up to your shoulders.

...At the same time, among the students wearing the same Kokura hakama and dark blue tabi , I saw a number of fair-skinned, exquisitery chiseled faces that made me realize the ugliness of my own; I concluded that I would never be attractive to the ladies after all.

"Country Teacher" by Katai Tayama (1909)
...Coming down the hot shadowless road, he took off his sweaty stand-collared summer clothes of Kokura fabric and ate a melon. Seizo remenbers the taste.

"Yamamototakerunomikoto Azumakagami" by Monzaemon Chikamatsu (1720)

...Tomorrow there will be a procession by a lord touring the feudal domain and celebrating a wedding here. The procession is let by retainers with their keyari (ed. note: tufted spears), kazuyari (ed. note: lances), and ohtori kenami made of kokura-chijimi. They also carry strings made of scarlet threads, as well as bamboo or tatekasa hats and scimitarlike swords.