By Porter Lang
Check the short ends first. A tenugui is a thin cotton strip, and on its two short edges there is no hem. That is not a fault. It is the main thing every source we read tries to explain, and the explanations are practical.
Size and cloth
The Japan National Tourism Organization’s magazine says tenugui are flat-woven cotton cloths about 90 cm by 35 cm. A shopping guide gives the same size, roughly 35 by 90 cm, and says the short ends carry no hem. The tourism magazine names three grades of cloth, from fine to coarse: tokuoka, oka and bun, and says finer cloth allows more detailed patterns. The same guide says tenugui are 100 per cent cotton and breathable.
Why the ends are raw
The shopping guide, which is a promotional page, gives three reasons. Water drains from a cut edge, so the cloth dries quickly, whereas a hem could hold moisture in its fold. The raw edge can be torn into strips, for a bandage or a cord. And after three or four washes, it says, the threads settle into a stable fringe of about 5 to 10 millimetres, which can be trimmed flush with small scissors without pulling. A dyeing company’s article on chusen says nothing about why the edges are open, and the tourism magazine does not either, so these reasons rest on one source.
Two ways to colour it
The tourism magazine separates two methods. In chusen dyeing, paper stencils are used, the dye penetrates the cloth so the pattern shows on both sides, and the colour fades with use. In nassen, or printing, the design sits on one side only. The shopping guide agrees: in chusen the fibres stay open and the cloth softens with each wash, while printed cloth leaves the reverse pale and is usually stiffer and less absorbent. Our reading: if you want to tell them apart in a shop, look at the back of the cloth.
How chusen is done
The article from the dyeing company, which is a producer’s account, says the technique developed in the Meiji period (1868 to 1912) in Osaka, and that originally 50 pieces of cloth could be dyed at once. Cloth is folded in a concertina shape. A stencil is placed over it and a resist paste, made mainly from seaweed, is spread through it with a wooden spatula. That step is repeated about 25 times. Paste barriers are squeezed around the patterns to hold in the dye. Dye is poured from above with a long-spouted pot, and a suction machine under the stand draws it through the cloth, so there is no front or back. The cloth is washed in a long tub, dewatered and dried in a high sunny room, and cut only after drying.
The tourism magazine gives a slightly different order. The stencils, katagami, are carved by hand from persimmon-tannin paper, and one can take nearly a month. Starch is applied through the stencil, and starched areas resist the dye. Dye is poured over the fabric and drawn through, the cloth is machine washed, air dried, and cut into 90 cm pieces from a roll about 24 metres long. So one source says seaweed paste and the other says starch. We show both.
A short history
The tourism magazine says tenugui are said to have been used in the Nara period (710 to 794) and that common people began using them in the Edo period (1603 to 1868). It says use declined as Western-style towels spread and rose again in recent years. A blog on making chusen tenugui gives the same two periods, though we saw only its opening lines. The shopping guide adds that tenugui were common in public bathhouses, though it gives no date.
Uses
The tourism magazine lists wiping, wrapping bento boxes and bottles, headwear, neckwear, place mats and display. The shopping guide adds wearing it folded around the neck, with a cold pack wrapped inside, and a life that runs from hand towel to kitchen wipe to floor cloth. The dyeing company says a 60 cm size is used for wrapping lunch boxes.
Care, as one source gives it
The shopping guide says to rinse a new cloth in plain water without detergent, dry it in shade, hand wash the first two or three times because chusen dye bleeds, avoid bleach and brightener detergents, and iron only if you like a crisp finish. It is one guide’s advice and not a maker’s instruction.
Dates in order
- 710 to 794: said to be in use, according to the tourism magazine.
- 1603 to 1868: common people begin using it, according to the tourism magazine.
- 1868 to 1912: chusen develops in Osaka, according to the dyeing company.
Side by side
The two accounts of the process agree on stencils, a resist and dye drawn through the cloth, and differ on the resist: seaweed paste or starch. They may be describing different workshops. Our reading: the word “resist” covers several pastes, and a label that says “chusen” does not tell you which was used.
What kind of sources these are
A national tourism organisation’s magazine; a dyeing company’s article, which is a producer’s own account; a shopping guide, which is promotional; and a blog. We read no museum, trade body or government craft register, and we name no shop or maker.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is it dyed or printed? Look at the back. Is it 90 by 35 cm, and what grade of cotton? How should the first wash go? We make no claim about any particular cloth and give no prices.
What we left out
We left out company and shop names, price ranges, a claim about use in disasters, and novelty designs.
Quick answers
What size is a tenugui? According to the Japan National Tourism Organization’s magazine, about 90 cm by 35 cm, in flat-woven cotton. A shopping guide gives the same size.
Why are tenugui ends not hemmed? A shopping guide says raw ends dry fast, can be torn into strips, and settle into a short fringe after a few washes. It is a promotional source.
What is chusen dyeing? According to the tourism magazine, a method using stencils where dye penetrates the cloth, so the pattern shows on both sides and fades with use.
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Roam first. Shop later.