Woven for centuries throughout the Okinawan islands before World War II, bashofu cloth is now produced only here in Kijoka and a few other places.

 

The craft demands a tremendous amount of labor and patience. From cultivating the ito-basho stalks that provide the fiber to forming and dyeing the thread to weaving the final cloth, one must stay focused at every juncture. Slight a single step, and at the end the entire process will be for nothing-such is the level of attentiveness required.

 

All tools and materials involved come from the natural surroundings of Okinawa, and not a single step depends on powered machinery. Bashofu-making is a priceless tradition and skill that our mothers and grandmothers and ancestors have safeguarded and passed down here in our homeland through many centuries. If we break this chain, bashofu will cease to exist. The thought of what a betrayal that would be has kept my colleagues and me going, despite many challenges.

 

While in recent years our work has begun to be recognized around the world, the future is still far from assured. Our members at Kijoka are aging. In particular we have fewer people able to perform the u-umi task of joining basho fibers to make thread, so that even securing a high-quality supply of this most essential material is becoming difficult. Bashofu is a craft of which not only Kijoka but all of Okinawa can be proud. My goal is to have as many people as possible come to

know this local heritage and see its value — and understand, too, what we here at Kijoka are trying to accomplish. If more would step forward to join in the effort, bashofu will live on for generations to come. That is our dearest wish.

 

Toshiko Taira

Kijoka, Ogimi-son, Okinawa

From Association for the Preservation of Kijoka Bashofu