Kimono EXPO Tokyo

Kimono EXPO is held once a year by Ginza Ichiri, a shop that buys kimono directly from the places they are woven and dyed. Makers come to it from across the country, and the point of it is that a visitor can watch the work being done, talk to the person who does it, and try it.

Workshops make up much of the floor. They are short, they take a few people at a time, and each ends with something to take away: a half-collar dyed by the bingata method of Okinawa, an obi cord of the marugoke kind, an obi clasp in Kyoto cloisonne, a bracelet of Izumi glass beads, a half-collar embroidered with flowers, a broken bowl mended with gold in the kintsugi manner. They are booked in advance and charged for, though entry to the hall is not. They are taught in Japanese, as the event is run throughout.

Weavers and dyers take tables and talk about what they make. Among the crafts represented are Hakata weaving from Fukuoka, Nishijin weaving and Kyoto yuzen dyeing from Kyoto, bingata from Okinawa, Kyoto embroidery, dyeing with plants, and Oshima tsumugi from the islands of Kagoshima.

There is also a clinic, where people bring kimono that have been kept too long in a drawer. Craftsmen who clean and repair them look at stains, mould and yellowing, or at a garment that no longer fits, and give an opinion and an estimate without charge. Alongside it a market sells oddments and end-of-line goods.