Produced in small villages on the border of Niigata and Yamagata prefectures, this ancient cloth is woven from the fibrous inner bark of the linden (shina) tree. Stripping the bark was traditionally the men's work done in summer forests; spinning and weaving was the women's winter craft. Today only a handful of weavers carry on the full process, from bark to finished textile.
Products range from practical everyday goods to interior items, obi sashes, and accessories. A 2013 collaboration with Murakami Kibori Tsuishu produced bags combining both crafts.
○ Main production areas: Tsuruoka City (Yamagata Pref.), Murakami City (Niigata Pref.)
Uetsu Shinafu Promotion Council
222 Mukai, Sekigawa, Tsuruoka, Yamagata 999-7315 (inside Sekigawa Shinaori Center)
Tel: 0235-47-2502 / Fax: 0235-47-2333
Email: info@shinaori-sekigawa.com (Sekigawa Shinaori Cooperative)
Shinafu Workshop Nariwai-no-Sato
325 Yamakumada, Murakami City, Niigata 959-3917
Tel/Fax: 0254-76-2115
Email: keizai-ss@city.murakami.lg.jp (Murakami City Economic Promotion Div.)
Yamakumada Workshop
299-1 Yamakumada, Murakami City, Niigata 959-3917
HP: https://shop.yamakumada.jp
Email: yamakumada@151cm.com
Kaminari Shinabata Preservation Society
434 Kaminari, Murakami City, Niigata 959-3916 / Tel: 0254-76-2825
Murakami has been a quality natural lacquer producer since the Heian period and is home to Japan's only Shinto shrine bearing the word "urushi" (lacquer). Six lacquering techniques are practised here, the most representative being Tsuishu — matte cinnabar-red lacquer with deep overall carving and intricate geometric ground patterns that gradually deepen to a rich gloss with use.
Products range from chopsticks and tea utensils to vases and furniture.
○ Main production area: Murakami City
Murakami Tsuishu Industrial Cooperative
3-1-17 Matsubaracho, Murakami 958-0032 (inside Murakami Kibori Tsuishu Hall)
Tel: 0254-53-1745 / Email: tsuishukumiai@aq.wakwak.com
Dating to the Edo period, these altars express the Pure Land paradise in a small space through the combined skill of five specialist crafts: woodwork, carving, lacquering, gold-leaf, and metalwork. Niigata / Shirone Butsudan are distinguished by particularly elaborate maki-e (gold powder lacquer) decoration.
○ Main production area: Niigata City
Niigata Butsudan Association — Tel: 025-280-2236
Shirone Butsudan Cooperative — Tel: 025-373-4181 / Email: shirones@niigata-inet.or.jp
Tracing back to early Edo period, Niigata lacquerware centred on everyday household items. Five traditional coating techniques are designated, including the distinctive "take-nuri" (bamboo-grain) finish, and over thirty variant coatings exist. A project since 2014 revives lost techniques of 19th-century master Shibata Zeshin.
○ Main production areas: Niigata City, Kamo City
Niigata Shikki Cooperative
329 Eisho-dori 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Niigata 951-8114
Tel: 025-265-2968 / Email: nuridon311@ah.wakwak.com
Paulownia wood's air-trapping, heat-insulating properties make these chests exceptional protectors of precious kimonos — fire tests have shown garments surviving total house fires. Traditionally made as bridal furniture with a lifetime guarantee, the chests can be washed and repaired to look new after a century of use.
○ Main production areas: Kamo City, Tagami Town
Kamo Tansu Cooperative
2-2-4 Saiwaicho, Kamo 959-1313
Tel: 0256-52-0445 / Email: tansukumiai@ginzado.ne.jp
The Tsubame-Sanjo area has been famous for metalwork since the early Edo period. Sanjo Buddhist altars feature elaborate hand-forged metal fittings and ornate palace-style inner shrines that closely follow the Kyoto tradition.
○ Main production areas: Sanjo City, Tsubame City, Niigata City
Sanjo-Tsubame-Nishikan Butsudan Association
1-2-40 Suidocho, Tsubame 959-1262
Tel: 0256-62-3756 / Email: littele-wing.sky@ae.auone-net.jp
Sanjo smiths are internationally celebrated for kitchen knives prized by top chefs worldwide, as well as planes, chisels, hatchets, sickles, and other forged tools. Each master specialises in a single product, working quietly with steel and flame in microscopic increments of adjustment.
○ Main production area: Sanjo City
Echigo Sanjo Blacksmiths Group
11-53 Motomachi, Sanjo 955-0072 (inside Sanjo Kaji Dojo)
Tel: 0256-34-8080 / Email: kaji@city.sanjo.niigata.jp
With over 200 years of history and international exhibition awards since the Vienna World Exposition of 1873, Tsubame hammered copperware remains uniquely appealing worldwide. The world's only colouring technique applied to copper is practised at Gyokusendo, which also houses an Important Cultural Property building open for artisan demonstrations.
○ Main production area: Tsubame City
Tsubame Copper Craft Association / Gyokusendo
2-2-21 Chuo-dori, Tsubame 959-1244
Tel: 0256-62-2015 / Email: info@gyokusendo.com
www.gyokusendo.com
Planes, chisels, broadaxes, and adzes are the four designated products; notably, Yoita is home to Japan's sole remaining adze smith. The forging techniques, unavailable in Europe, are prized by both Japanese shrine carpenters and European violin makers.
○ Main production area: Nagaoka City
Echigo Yoita Uchihamono Association
134-2 Yoitamachi Yoita-ko, Nagaoka 940-2402
Tel: 0258-72-2303 / Email: yoisho@fancy.ocn.ne.jp
Distinguished by zelkova-wood doors with deep ro-iro lacquer polish, high-relief carving, gold-leaf, and an unusual three-tiered inner shrine (most altars have one or two tiers). Craftsmen actively develop new designs for national competitions and conduct craft workshops in local schools.
○ Main production areas: Nagaoka City, Ojiya City, Tokamachi City
Nagaoka Area Butsudan Cooperative
5-5 Sekihara-machi, Nagaoka 940-2035
Tel: 0258-46-2210 / Email: butsuko@at.wakwak.com
Unlike the other five Niigata textile crafts (all silk), Ojiya Chijimi uses ramie (hemp) yarn. A pre-dyed weave with plain warp and ikat weft only, this light, cool summer fabric can be machine-washed. Modern products include casual shirts, jackets, and summer bedding.
○ Main production areas: Ojiya City, Nagaoka City, Tokamachi City
Ojiya Textile Industrial Cooperative
1-8-25 Shironai, Ojiya 947-0028
Tel: 0258-83-2329 / Email: ojiya-ori@carrot.ocn.ne.jp
A silk ikat (kasuri) fabric with a light, warm hand. Like Ojiya Chijimi, it uses hand-rubbed pre-dyed ikat thread, each thread aligned by hand for the pattern. The weft-only ikat technique produces diverse rustic patterns with distinctive character.
○ Main production areas: Ojiya City, Nagaoka City, Tokamachi City
Ojiya Textile Industrial Cooperative
1-8-25 Shironai, Ojiya 947-0028
Tel: 0258-83-2329 / Email: ojiya-ori@carrot.ocn.ne.jp
Inheriting the techniques of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage "Echigo Jofu" (ramie cloth) in silk, Shiozawa Tsumugi was born in the late 18th century. Its subtle, refined ikat patterns and muted palette carry a quiet elegance. The traditional snow-bleaching process — laying fabric on fresh snow under bright sun — brings out vivid pattern definition.
○ Main production area: Minamiuonuma City
Shiozawa Textile Industrial Cooperative
107-1 Mekida, Minamiuonuma 949-6435
Tel: 025-782-1127 / Email: siozawaorimono@wine.ocn.ne.jp
A pre-dyed silk fabric with a cool, slightly crisp feel and moderate body that resists droop even as a single-layer garment. Fine cross-shaped and hexagonal ikat kasuri patterns create an intricate, luxurious appearance. After weaving at a wider width, a unique hot-water fulling process shrinks it to finished width — a technique exclusive to Shiozawa.
○ Main production area: Minamiuonuma City
Shiozawa Textile Industrial Cooperative
107-1 Mekida, Minamiuonuma 949-6435
Tel: 025-782-1127 / Email: siozawaorimono@wine.ocn.ne.jp
Using sophisticated ikat techniques to create patterns ranging from traditional to contemporary, Tokamachi Gasuri is worn as casual daily and smart-casual kimono. The city's annual Kimono Festival on May 3 features kimono lending, dressing assistance, and a vibrant market.
○ Main production areas: Tokamachi City, Tsunan Town
Tokamachi Textile Industrial Cooperative
6 Honcho, Tokamachi 948-0003 (4F, Crosten)
Tel: 025-757-9111 / Email: t.orikumi@mail.tiara.or.jp
Once the height of fashion as a sheer luxury summer kimono, Akashi Chijimi shares the same pre-dyed ikat weave structure as Tokamachi Gasuri. The key difference is the strong twist (nenshi) applied to the weft yarn, which is then hot-water treated to create the distinctive fine crinkle (shibo) texture — giving the fabric its signature cool, smooth touch.
○ Main production area: Tokamachi City
Tokamachi Textile Industrial Cooperative
6 Honcho, Tokamachi 948-0003 (4F, Crosten)
Tel: 025-757-9111 / Email: t.orikumi@mail.tiara.or.jp