kobooriza - Kobo Oriza - Stoles, mufflers and caps from Imabari, Ehime

Surrounded by greenery and clear streams, you can hear the nostalgic sound of the weaving looms.

In Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, which is known for producing towels and other cotton fabrics, Kobo Oriza makes stoles and mufflers full of originality using old-fashioned weaving machines. In the mountainous area of ​​Imabari City, where time flows slowly and lushly green, the company pursues manufacturing that makes the most of its unique weaving techniques.

Masatoshi Takeda, who leads Kobo Oriza, is an engineer who worked for a towel manufacturer for nearly 40 years and also served as the factory manager. With the rise of cheap towels made overseas, the towel factory where I worked abolished the production department and started selling only towels.

Among them, the “fluctuation weave” muffler with a rare soft wave design. A method called mojiri weaving, in which the warp and weft threads are tied together, creates a wave pattern that is difficult to shift and does not collapse. For this weaving, he was awarded the "3rd Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award" for "developing the world's first 'vertical and horizontal yoroke mojiri weaving' and original products by manipulating retro looms in the early Showa era." .

There are also a wide variety of colors and shapes, such as plant-dyed stoles dyed with natural dyes and cotton caps that can be used in 8 different ways.

Items created by traditional techniques are becoming familiar with modern fashion. People and traditions are entwined, just like threads are entwined... The products that Kobo Oriza creates seem to be a bridge that connects the present and the past.