top of page
Kijoka Bashofu
grow from the soil.
1. Cultivation
Because the fibers of wild ito-basho tend to be tough, those used in Kijoka today are harvested from carefully cultivated fields.
2. Stripping the stalks
U-hagi is the process of removing the concentric layers of the felled stalks. Each stalk is upended and its layers are peeled away one by one, yielding long strips that are classified into four types according to their distance from the core.
3. Boiling
In this step, called u-daki, wood lye is brought to a boil in a large pot. The bundled strips are placed inside, then covered and heated for several hours to soften them. The four types of strips are boiled separately as their fibers differ in strength.
bottom of page