My Activity ③　私の活動③

皆さんこれなんだと思いますか。絹の生地です。一番右側は紬です。他の二つは解りません。説明は聞いたのですが、忘れてしまいました。元は絹の着物だったものです。絹の着物を洗う時に昔はどうしていたか?いったん全部ばらします。洗ったあと、それを細長い板に張って乾かすのです。これを洗い張りといいます。私が子供の時、私の母はこれをやっていました。自宅に洗い張りのための長い板もありました。そしてまた縫って元の着物に仕立て直すのです。えらいてまがかかります。その洗い張りのあとのものがこれです。裏地も含めて全部洗い張りするのです。

私は所沢市に住んでいますが、所沢は織物の町として発展してきました。所沢には、所沢銀座という通りがあります。この周りには裕福な織物商の邸宅もありましたし、織物商組合の会館もありました。ドイツにゲヴァントハウスオーケストラという有名なオーケストラがあります。ゲヴァントというのは織物という意味です。織物商組合の会館がゲヴァントハウスです。中世後期から近代までの時期で最初に裕福になるのは織物に関わった人たちです。だから、オーケストラまで抱える豪壮な会館までできたのです。
産業革命の記述が紡績機械、織機の発明から始まるとおり、まず織物業から始まるのは当時の最先端産業であり儲かる商売だったからです。

この写真は、所沢のトコトコ祭歳に時にたったフリーマーケットです。沢山の絹地、絹地をリサイクルした衣料、バッグ、財布等々が売りに出ていました。
What do you all think this is? It's silk fabric. The one on the far right is tsumugi. I don't remember the details about the other two, although I heard an explanation. These were originally kimono made of silk fabric. How did they wash silk kimonos in the past? They would first dismantle them completely. After washing, they would stretch them out on long boards to dry. This process is called "araihari". When I was a child, my mother used to do this. We even had long boards at home for stretching. Then they would sew them back together to remake the original kimono. It was quite a laborious process. This here is the result after araihari, including the lining, everything gets stretched and washed.
This photo is from the Tokorozawa Tokotoko Festival, where there was a small flea market. Many silk fabrics, recycled clothing, bags, wallets, etc., were being sold.

I live in Tokorozawa City, which has developed as a town of textiles. There's a street called Tokorozawa Ginza. Around this area, there were affluent textile merchant residences and also the Textile Merchants' Union Hall. In Germany, there's a famous orchestra called the Gewandhausorchester. "Gewand" means fabric. The hall of the Textile Merchants' Union is called Gewandhaus. Those who were involved in textiles were among the first to become wealthy from the late Middle Ages to the modern period. That's why such a magnificent hall, even housing an orchestra, could be established. As described in the history of the Industrial Revolution, starting from the invention of spinning machines and looms, textile industry was among the forefront industries at that time, and it was a profitable business.

私がよく行くうどん屋さんです。とてもおいしい店です。雑誌にも何回か掲載されたお店です。西所沢にお寄りの際は是非食べに行ってください。
ここのオウナーが以前といっても数十年前ですが染屋さんでした。そのこともあって、一番上の写真の絹地を提供してくださいました。
所沢には柳瀬川という川が流れています。その川沿いには数多くの染屋さんはじめ織物に関係する職業に従事する人たちが住んでいました。なぜかというと今の多摩湖、狭山湖の底に当たるところの村が織物業の中心地だったところだからです。
その後どうなったかというと、多摩湖の造成のため沈められてしまいました。あるいは、今は航空公園になっていますが、飛行場造成のため労働者の賃金が上がり成り立たなくなっていきました。昔、農業者のことを百姓といっていました。何でもやるんです。竹編み細工、木工。所沢、清瀬にはいくつもの資料館、公民館があります。その当時作られた農機具、竹細工、木工製品などが展示されています。簡単な機械なんて作っちゃうんです。
染屋が使う版木なんかを作る職人さんなんてのが存在していたのです。
This is a udon restaurant I often visit. It's a very delicious place. It has been featured in magazines several times. If you happen to be in Nishi-Tokorozawa, please be sure to go and try it. The owner here used to be a dyer, even though it was several decades ago. Because of that, they provided the silk fabric in the top photo. In Tokorozawa, there is a river called Yanasegawa. Many people engaged in professions related to dyeing and weaving lived along that river. The reason is that the village where Tama Lake and Sayama Lake are now located used to be the center of the textile industry. What happened afterward is that it was submerged for the reclamation of Tama Lake. Alternatively, it is now an aviation park, but it became economically unfeasible due to the increased wages of workers for the construction of the airfield. In the past, farmers were called "hyakusho" and they did everything. Bamboo weaving, woodworking. Tokorozawa and Kiyose have several museums and community centers. Farming implements, bamboo crafts, woodworking products, and the like from that time are exhibited there. They even made simple machines. There were craftsmen w

ho made woodblocks used by dyers.

話を元に戻します。先日日本のあるNGO団体の会館に行ってきました。そこでウクライナの避難民の方たちが集まって裁縫の活動を行っていると聞いたからです。そこに写真の絹地と和服をおいてきました。役立ててもらうためです。なぜこんなことを始めたのかというと、モロッコに知人がいます。オンラインでで話をしています。オンラインで登場するときは必ずヒジャブを身につけています。話の中でヒジャブがいくらするのか聞いてみました。３ドルくらい。ということでした。綿製です。ついでにもし日本の着物で使われていた絹地だったらいくらぐらいかなと聞いたところ、１４か１５ドルくらいかなと言うことでした。その時着物を送ってヒジャブになったら面白いなと思ったわけです。すでに送りました。今月末くらいには届くでしょう。こんな話を友人に話したら大量の着物を送ってくれました。
さらに別の友人から先ほどのNGO団体の話を聞いたわけです。なんかあれよあれよという間に広まってこんな形になりました。写真にあるようにウクライナの人たちが作った作品はどれも素晴らしいもので、今後どうマネタイズできるかが課題かなと思っています。I recently visited the building of a certain NGO in Japan. I heard that Ukrainian refugees were gathered there to engage in sewing activities. So, I left some silk fabric and kimono there for them to use. I did it to be of help. You might wonder why I started this. Well, I have an acquaintance in Morocco whom I often chat with online. Whenever she appears online, she always wears a hijab. In our conversation, I asked her how much a hijab costs. She said around 3 dollars for a cotton one. Curious, I also asked how much a silk fabric, like the one used in Japanese kimonos, would cost. She estimated around 14 or 15 dollars. That's when I thought it would be interesting to send kimonos and see them turned into hijabs. I've already sent them. They should arrive by the end of this month. When I shared this story with a friend, they sent me a large amount of kimonos. And then, from another friend, I heard about the NGO's activities I mentioned earlier. Before I knew it, things had spread and evolved into this form. As shown in the photos, the artworks made by the Ukrainian people are all wonderful. Now, I'm thinking about how to monetize them in the future.

This is a udon restaurant I often visit. It's a very delicious place. It has been featured in magazines several times. If you happen to be in Nishi-Tokorozawa, please be sure to go and try it. The owner here used to be a dyer, even though it was several decades ago. Because of that, they provided the silk fabric in the top photo. In Tokorozawa, there is a river called Yanasegawa. Many people engaged in professions related to dyeing and weaving lived along that river. The reason is that the village where Tama Lake and Sayama Lake are now located used to be the center of the textile industry. What happened afterward is that it was submerged for the reclamation of Tama Lake. Alternatively, it is now an aviation park, but it became economically unfeasible due to the increased wages of workers for the construction of the airfield. In the past, farmers were called "hyakusho" and they did everything. Bamboo weaving, woodworking. Tokorozawa and Kiyose have several museums and community centers. Farming implements, bamboo crafts, woodworking products, and the like from that time are exhibited there. They even made simple machines. There were craftsmen w

ho made woodblocks used by dyers.