Yuzen(-zome)

Yuzen-style dyeing; a pictorial silk fablic dyed in the Yuzen fashion, which is said to have been developed by Miyazaki Yuzensai (?1680-?1710) in Kyoto in the Edo period (1603-1868).

The pictrial design is made by the paste-resist method of dyeing by applying rice starch paste on brush-work painting and then dyeing the background. This method caltures the air of real paintings. Originally the desin was hand-painted, and those of high-quality products still are today. In former days, long strips of colorful Yuzen fablic could be seen being washed (to remove the paste) in the Kamo River in Kyoto. (*)

All these pictures are made by cutting figures out from Japanese Paper (Washi) with a blade.