Nishijin brocade is a luxurious silk textile woven with dyed threads.

This traditional Kyoto craft has primarily been produced for kimono and obi sashes.

However, the kimono market is shrinking as fewer people wear traditional garments.

Nishijin textile shipment value is currently one-tenth of its peak in 1983.

Manufacturers are now putting their weaving skills to new use,

creating fabrics with unique materials.

I'd like to pass these skills on
to the next generation.

I'm not sure how, but I'm trying to
come up with something new.

New opportunities are being created where techniques are conveyed to up-and-coming artisans.

No other textile is as fun
or fascinating as this.

We've been talking about establishing
a place for teaching these skills.

New products are also being developed through upcycling

in efforts to promote Nishijin brocade.

I'd like to create a platform for young
people to carry on the craft.

I want to do everything
I can for Nishijin.

Nishijin brocade has perpetuated its heritage

by constantly incorporating changes to its traditional base.

Core Kyoto looks at how artisans are investing their hopes

for the future into every thread they weave.

As guests enter this Kyoto hotel, which opened in 2022,

they are captivated by the colorful 15-meter objet d'art, a glass fiber textile.

The luster and transparency of the glass enhance the beauty.

Glass fiber is fragile, making it difficult to weave into intricate patterns.

This challenging project was handled by a Nishijin workshop founded in 1902.

They had been searching for a
weaver throughout Japan.

Then they discovered us
and made an offer.

My policy is to take any material
and turn it into a textile.

Fukuoka Hironori is embracing the challenge of using his silk weaving skills

to commercialize textile products made from various new materials.

The Nishijin brocade industry has long embraced division of labor.

But Fukuoka's workshop is a rare example of an establishment

which handles every step, from design to dyeing.

Fukuoka inherited the business in 1998.

While searching for new opportunities,

he spotted potential in using Nishijin techniques to weave with a fiber known to be difficult to handle.

This brocade made from carbon fiber boasts an intricate pattern and elegant finish.

This is carbon fiber.

Each strand is 7 microns thick,
one-tenth that of human hair.

3,000 strands
create a single thread.

It has excellent tension but
easily breaks or frays.

It rubs and catches on the machine
while being woven.

Improving the machines has resolved some
issues and resulted in beautiful fabrics.

It took 15 years to improve the loom sufficiently to reduce fluff during the weaving process

and finally release the products on the market.

Weaving carbon fibers into designs is a technology unique in the world.

Carbon fiber is light, strong, and heat resistant, and the range of applications

is expanding to fashion accessories and car interiors.

Fukuoka also tried weaving carbon fibers with glass fibers,

which produces vivid colors.

He has now commercialized a prototype chair.

A Kyoto shoemaker incorporated Nishijin carbon fiber into footwear which is now on the market.

I thought the material would make beautiful
shoes so I asked if I could use it.

It was
a real challenge.

Leather stretches in all directions
and can be pulled into shape.

But carbon fiber doesn't,
so it was hard.

I used leather where stretch is essential,
and carbon fiber elsewhere.

Fukuoka had a compelling reason for turning new materials into textiles.

The already declining demand for kimono was further exacerbated by the pandemic.

New orders plummeted.

Yet Fukuoka, intent on training young artisans, continued production.

This was woven from
recycled plastic bottles.

Our workshop has
many people on staff,

and I didn't want our craftsmen's skills to wane
due to lack of work during the pandemic.

I wanted to continue weaving, and products
using fibers from plastic bottles seemed interesting.

His craftsmen lived up to his expectations and got right to work on their looms.

It is quite difficult, but completing
an obi gives a sense of achievement.

I'd really like to create
something tangible to leave behind.

In 2022, ten Kyoto manufacturers exhibited products made with the recycled plastic bottle textile.

Initially, awareness of the new textile which took three years to develop, was low.

But heightened interest in the environment ultimately enabled Fukuoka to create a brand.

Using plastic bottle fibers to weave patterns with Nishijin techniques has become Fukuoka's specialty.

He has integrated this secret weapon into manufacturing items that sell.

Products using new materials now account for almost 80 percent of his sales

and are a pillar of his business.

However, Fukuoka has not neglected his core business - kimono.

This passion led him to create a new brand of coordinated kimono for couples.

The items in his new range are priced at one-third the conventional value

to make them affordable to young people.

Nishijin and kimono are the best.

You can see and feel the difference when
you wear quality silk kimono and obi.

We want young people
to wear quality items.

Even if our new business were to
account for 90% of total sales,

our core business
will always be kimono.

The Nishijin district lies northwest of the city center

and is home to the textile industry and its ancillary businesses.

This brocade workshop was founded in 1868.

Its focus remains on production of obi incorporating silver and gold threads.

Nishijin brocade employs a Jacquard loom where the mechanism at the top lifts the warp threads,

allowing a shuttle to weave the weft threads through the gap.

The workshop developed art textile technology

that enables expression using a multitude of colors.

This work, measuring about 36 cm in width,

incorporates 2,700 warps and 20,000 wefts.

The thickness of the silk threads varies according to the pattern.

Thicker threads create emphasis, while more slender threads produce a lighter look.

The feel of a richly multicolored work is achieved with only 12 shades of thread.

This looks pink, but look closer and
you'll find many colored threads mixed in.

Each color represents one dot, and
the total creates a simulated expression.

A computer was used to analyze the original

and generate CG data to express subtle colors and create a three-dimensional feel.

Weavers are eager to try all kinds of weaving,
especially textiles that appear as photos.

I think we succeeded thanks to our
foundation of Nishijin weaving techniques.

Tsutada Fumio, once a kimono purveyor in Osaka,

was astonished by the advanced skills in Nishijin art textiles.

He opened a museum in central Kyoto to generate greater exposure

for this textile form and is working closely with Tomiie.

In 2001, the two began producing Nishijin art textiles.

Depicted here is the 133-meter Nachi Falls which is recognized as Japan's tallest single-tier waterfall.

Japanese have worshipped nature since ancient times

and believe that the deities reside in every aspect of the landscape around us.

Nachi Falls itself is regarded as a deity.

The textile depicts the water spray in fine detail.

When viewed from below, Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, emerges.

It took three long years to complete this work

and expressively capture the sanctity of the Nachi Falls.

The next project was the Eleven-headed Kannon at Shorin-ji in Nara,

a National Treasure regarded as a masterpiece of Japanese sculpture.

This work, that also took about three years,

measures 193 centimeters in height and 65 centimeters wide.

The textile communicates the statue's three-dimensionality using thick black threads for the background,

and thin black threads embedded in the gold thread for the figure.

The subtle shading conveys Kannon's majesty.

The success of these works has opened a new world for art textiles,

including depiction of some 50 Buddhist statues designated as national treasures

and colorization of now-faded illustrated scenes from the early-11th-century novel, The Tale of Genji.

We want to preserve the legacy of Nishijin
brocade craftsmanship through art,

sending it into the world and the future.

The interior of these silk-thread earrings is hollow,

allowing light to dance through gaps in the threads.

These were created with Nishijin textile byproducts.

We are committed to using byproducts from
traditional industries in the Nishijin district.

It was obvious that they could not
be used by the textile workshops.

We are focused on reuse
and giving them value.

It also helps us create affordable
accessories and other items.

Miyatake's student staff works to prepare the discarded materials for upcycling,

untangling knots so the threads are ready for reuse.

These earrings are knitted from re-spun silk threads.

The threads are also embedded in rings.

The accessories preserve as much of the material's original texture as possible.

The designer and Miyatake have been friends since their school days.

I thought about what
I wanted to convey.

I knew nothing about byproducts
or upcycling when I came onboard,

so I want to create upcycled products
that appeal to young consumers.

I hope to draw people in for a closer look
after they notice the accessories.

Five Kyoto companies currently donate their byproducts to Miyatake.

One of them is Fukuoka's textile workshop, and Miyatake makes routine visits.

"Konnichiwa."

"O-jama shimasu."

"Otsukaresama desu."

- What are you looking for today?
- What have you got?

What a pretty color.
It's sort of blue.

- It's for a man's obi.
- I can imagine it.

Miyatake always tries to learn about each material she gathers.

It's gorgeous!

- May I have this?
- It's carbon.

It's from a plastic bottle, too.

When Miyatake first visited Fukuoka with the notion of using weaving byproducts in new items,

she was told there was no such waste.

But, she persisted and eventually prevailed.

The material sitting in the trash
was so pretty.

They said they had been discarding
the threads since 1902.

That astonished me, and I kept pondering
how to use them as I made my rounds.

I wondered what in the world
she would do with them.

I was so surprised when I
saw the finished products.

We were delighted and grateful.
We must support such individuals.

Miyatake is careful to visit regularly to build further trust within the Nishijin community.

The pandemic came and Zoom meetings
suddenly became standard.

We didn't know what to do.

Then she appeared like a savior
and taught us a lot.

It's wonderful that she takes an idea
and immediately puts it into practice.

Miyatake was born in Osaka to Japanese and Indonesian parents

and spent her childhood feeling alienated from the surrounding community.

Then she entered university in Kyoto and encountered Nishijin residents.

When I came to Nishijin,
they recognized my international side.

Since I could speak English,
they wanted to do something together.

They welcomed me into the community
as one of them. It felt amazing.

I feel at home here. That's why I want
to cherish this community.

In 2022, some 20 restaurants and businesses participated

in an event with workshops and booths to promote the Nishijin district.

As part of the organizing committee, Miyatake handled planning and PR.

This workshop that used scrap Nishijin brocades and scrap wood was a hit with children.

The event was planned to promote interest in Nishijin materials through hands-on contact with them.

Nishijin brocade is only considered as a whole,
but each artisan has their own technique.

I want to make sure
each technique survives.

I'd like to create a platform for
young people to carry on the craft.

I want to do everything
I can for Nishijin.

The binding machine is the oldest type of loom used in Nishijin brocade.

It is not mechanized; it is operated by only the hands and feet.

The textiles woven with this machine are tsuzure-ori tapestries.

The weaver glances down at the design placed under the loom

and rakes each weft with fingernails instead of a shuttle.

Then a fine-toothed comb is run through the weaving to even out the strength.

The weaver's fingernails are filed into a zigzag shape to enable this work.

Hirano Kikuo has been a traditional artisan in the weaving industry for over 60 years.

He is now creating four works representing the Four Heavenly Kings recognized as national treasures.

This tapestry of one of the heavenly kings required six months and some 160 colors of thread to complete.

This is where I am now.

It's so difficult to determine
how precise it needs to be -

and which areas require
undivided attention.

Hirano established this workshop in 2011

as a base for passing along his skills and tapestry weaving to the next generation.

Aspiring, entry-level and professional artisans gather to learn from Hirano

and strive to complete creations of their own.

Hirano is a third-generation Nishijin tapestry weaver.

After learning from his father and honing his skills,

he joined a major textile manufacturer in Kyoto,

where he created a variety of products.

He established his own workshop post-retirement,

sensing that the legacy of tapestry weaving was endangered.

When I was working, I worried that the
craft might gradually disappear.

There is no other textile
as fun or interesting.

We had fun while working,
odd as that may sound,

so I wanted to create a workshop where I could
enjoy the process of handing down the craft.

The workshop currently sells made-to-order items such as obi, hanging scrolls, handbags, lampshades, and accessories.

Classes aimed at beginners represent another pillar of the workshop's activities.

The workshop also welcomes those who wish to make their own preferred items,

with many travelling some distance and staying several days in Kyoto to complete the items.

I'm just a beginner, so I didn't
attempt a difficult pattern.

Each day, I can only weave
about 5 centimeters.

Completing an obi like this takes time,
which is something I'm coming to appreciate.

Some people start half-heartedly
but then become immersed,

so I think I'm getting
through to them.

Those who hang in there
get results.

The most important thing
is to have no regrets.

Miyatake is now developing new upcycled products -

Nishijin brocade boards that can be hung on walls, like paintings.

She is using swatches of obi material from Fukuoka's workshop...

...and scrap wood procured from a Kyoto company.

Final assembly is done in a workshop at a facility for the handicapped in Kyoto.

As producer, Miyatake liaises among the three companies involved.

The finished products are beautiful.
We engaged in a division of labor.

We couldn't have completed this project
without that and pooling our knowledge.

I hope we can sell them overseas,
as well as in Japan.

I want to bring traditional art into daily lives
and show how people are active in society.

I want the art to serve
as a bridge.

Miyatake immediately showed the Fukuokas the completed prototype.

All the byproducts and handmade parts
are completed in Kyoto.

I've wanted to expand overseas
for some time now,

and she has just made
it easier for us.

I see this has potential.

Items previously seen as scrap pave the way for overseas expansion.

Traditional weavers and artisans are broadening their perspective

to collaborate with external partners and create new products.

Nishijin brocade continues to embrace change and weave itself a new history for the times.