Ise Katagami Tokyo Exhibition
伊勢型紙 東京展
Three days in Tokyo showing Ise Katagami, paper stencils for dyeing kimono and an Important Intangible Cultural Property, with carving demonstrations and sales.
〒 103-0022How to get there
新日本橋Ginza Line · Hanzomon Line · Sobu Main Line1 min walk from the station
The three-day event introduces visitors to Ise Katagami, a paper-stencil craft from Mie Prefecture with a history said to span more than a millennium, and presents new ways the craft is being adapted for contemporary interiors.
What is Ise Katagami
Ise Katagami refers to the finely carved paper stencils traditionally used to dye patterns onto kimono fabric. The craft developed around Suzuka City in Mie Prefecture, where artisans laminate sheets of washi with persimmon tannin and carve them by hand using specialised blades. Some stencils carry about 100 holes per square centimetre, others as many as 11 stripes per centimetre. They are then used to apply rice-paste resist to cloth before dyeing.
The technique was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan in 1955, with six master artisans recognised individually as holders of the property. In 1993, the Ise Katagami Technique Preservation Association was additionally designated as the property's holder group. Separately, in 1983, the craft received Traditional Craft status in the tools and implements category from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Demand for stencils has fallen with kimono wear and with newer dyeing methods, and the number of makers and artisans has gone down. The preservation association runs training courses, and new uses are being tried in framed works, lighting and architectural fittings.
The 2026 edition
A central feature of the 2026 edition was a special display of stencils produced in cooperation with the television drama series Akinai Seiden: Kin to Gin. The selection included motifs such as Suzu Komon (bells), Eto Komon (zodiac animals), Kanai Anzen (household safety), Hanabi (fireworks) and Suzuo (bell ropes).
New products developed from these designs were shown for the first time: small accessories, bookmarks and tenugui hand towels. Framed works, lighting pieces and folding fans with Ise Katagami motifs were also shown and sold.
Traditional craftspeople and their successors gave carving demonstrations during the 2026 edition, so visitors could watch the patterns being cut at close range.
Getting There
Planning a trip? Fit this into a trip and Oni plans the rest around it.
You might also like
Design Festa
An open art event at Tokyo Big Sight where more than 10,000 artists, professional or amateur, show and sell original work with no screening.
14–15 Nov 2026Tokyo
MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary
Fifteen years of MAPPA at the Yurakucho Museum this autumn, with original drawings and production art from 23 titles, three of them given their own areas.
16 Sep – 7 Dec 2026Tokyo
Manekineko Art Museum
Japan's first museum devoted to the maneki neko, the beckoning cat, with about 800 figures from the Meiji era to the present and a painting workshop.
Okayama
Kaikai Yokai Festival
Uzumasa Kyoto Village (Toei Kyoto Studio Park) fills with yokai every autumn: two evening parades, dance shows, daily yokai greetings and limited yokai food.
12 Sep – 29 Nov 2026Kyoto
Odaiba Retro Museum
Hands-on museum in Odaiba, Tokyo, with reconstructed Showa-era streets and shops full of old toys, games and posters that visitors can touch and play with.
Tokyo
Miraikan - The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
Japan's national science museum in Odaiba, run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, with permanent exhibitions, the Geo-Cosmos globe and a dome theater.
Tokyo
