Hemp has been an essential part of Japanese life, from daily life to Shinto rituals.
Japan is blessed with abundant nature throughout the four seasons. Since ancient times, people have harvested fibers from the bark and stems of plants and trees growing wild in the mountains, spun them into thread, and wove them into cloth to support their daily lives.
"Since ancient times, Japanese people have woven cloth using plant fibers such as kudzu, wisteria, kozo (paper mulberry) used to make washi paper, and banana. These natural fabrics, with their simple and unique texture, are still beloved and passed down today," says Shinichiro Yoshida, director of the Institute for Early Modern Hemp Fabric. Yoshida has studied Japanese natural fabrics for 30 years, focusing primarily on the fibers and threads of hemp fabric and ramie from the Edo period. "Hemp has been an essential material in Japanese life, as evidenced by the discovery of hemp woven fabrics and strings from Jomon period ruins. Until the Edo period, when cotton became widespread, hemp and ramie, cultivated throughout Japan, were the primary clothing materials." Hemp was also held in special regard as a "sacred plant." In Shinto rituals, it is called "Ounusa," and bundles of bark were offered to the gods. Hemp is still used today for the hemp cords surrounding sacred areas and for the bells hanging in shrines. "Since ancient times, festivals such as the Daijosai and Shinto rituals at Ise Shrine have been performed wearing costumes woven from hemp cloth. Furthermore, the talismans of Ise Shrine are called Jingu Taima (jingu taima). People have likely felt that hemp possesses hidden powers since ancient times." Hemp is a material that has played a role in all sorts of situations, from everyday life to Shinto rituals.

For many years, hemp was thought to be a clothing material for the common people, and that high-quality fabrics known as jofu were woven from ramie. In fact, Nara sarashi, whose length and width were determined by order of Tokugawa Ieyasu and whose fabrics were only stamped with the red seal of "Nanto" (Nanto) upon passing inspection, and Echigo chijimi, both are woven from ramie.

"Until now, ramie has been considered the finest fabric. However, during research into the antique fabrics we have collected, we discovered hemp thread in high-quality kimonos. Furthermore, we discovered that in the Hikone domain during the Edo period, in addition to the finest fabrics made from ramie, they also wove bleached cloth made from 100% hemp. When I first touched hemp cloth, I was amazed at how soft it was, overturning previous beliefs."

This encounter with Omi bleached cloth woven from hemp has become the catalyst for reviving "hemp cloth" into the modern day.

To be continued in the second part.