Traditional Japanese Towel – Imarari Towel
Have you ever heard the words Imabari towel? If you live outside Japan, most of you know nothing about it. Imabari is a city located in western Japan where the towel industry has developed for more than several hundred years. We assume that you will first look at information concerning travel, culture, or big cities when you search or read about Japan. No one would reach Imarbari Towel and Imabari itself with the research.
It is far from Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto and not a big city capturing your attention to have fun with any attraction or shopping. Imabari is a rural area that even Japanese people rarely visit as the town does not have amusement facilities. On the contrary, thanks to fewer people visiting, the natural environment remains, resulting in that it has clear and pure water suitable to manufacture high-quality towels. Let me explain something about the features and history of the Imabari towel, and I will introduce some excellent Imabari products you will love!!
Feature
The outstanding characteristics of Imabari towels are softness, smoothness, and color. In the Imabari towel production area, there is an abundance of high-quality water suitable for bleaching and dyeing, such as subterranean water from the Sosha River, which originates from the Takanawa Mountains, and groundwater flowing from the sacred mountain of Ishizuchi. This soft water is used for bleaching, which results in a gentle finish for the fibers.
Craftsmen do not simply make towels that look good or are luxurious. They carefully select cotton to make towels that are easy to use based on the purpose of use, and thoroughly bleach and dye the yarn and raw cloth with time and effort to bring out its superiority. In fact, most of the towels are colored with pure white because white color reveals even tiny parts of impurity as they appear on the pure white with dark colors such as black, gray, or brown. In other words, craftsmen with traditional Japanese skills are confident that their handling of water and cotton, as well as long-standing manufacturing skills, generates perfect pure white towels without any impurities.
Conditions for accredited as Imabari towel are quite strict. The time it takes for a piece of towel to start sinking in water (sedimentation method) is less than 5 seconds. Furthermore, the towel must have high water-absorbing power as it is manufactured, rather than being washed once to increase its water-absorbing power, to be certified. There are about 20 other conditions that Imabari towels must satisfy. Shikoku Towel Industry Association only allows the use of the brand mark and logo on products that have passed all these strict Shikoku Towel Industry Association’s quality standards.
What is even more wonderful is that while ordinary towels become harder with each use, Imabari towels remain soft. The reason for the long-lasting softness lies in the yarn used in Imabari towels; They do not use highly twisted yarns. Even after continuous use, the softness does not change without the use of a fabric softener.
*Japan has lots of traditional textile industry, such as Nishijin brocade in Kyoto, Yuuki pongee in Ibaraki or Ojiya-pongee.
History
The Imabari area has had a very active textile industry since the 700s. Then, in the 1600s, cotton cultivation became a major industry, benefiting from the Mediterranean climate, and the area quickly blossomed into a towel production area. However, towels from Osaka and Hyogo began to sell in the 1800s and the Towel industry in Imabari entered a period of slump. In 1910, the company introduced a loom called the “two-armed battalion” that could weave two rows of towels at the same time, dramatically improving production efficiency.
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| Japanese traditional sewing machine |
And it was Nakamura Chuzaemon who introduced the technique that has been the foundation of the current prosperity of the Imabari towel. This process brings out the natural qualities of cotton yarns (softness, etc.) and enables them to produce towels with the unique colors and soft touch of Imabari towels. In detail, he changed the traditional method from weaving to bleaching and dyeing to the so-called “first bleaching and first dyeing” method (bleaching → dyeing → weaving).
This process needs a vast amount of water for the first step. In addition, the quality of water determines the quality of the towel as cotton absorbs the water in the first process. Therefore, pure water in the regions has played a vital role in producing Imabari towels.
During the bubble economy boom of the 1980s, sales of Imabari towels declined for a while due to the craze for foreign high brands. However, luxury hotels, such as the Ritz-Carlton, began to reevaluate the value and quality of Imabari towels and adopted them as their hotel towels. This trend has made Japanese people re-recognize the quality of the towels resulting in Imabari towels gaining a reputation again.
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| Imabari towel at Ritz Carlton(picture from Ritz Carlton Osaka) |
Your life with Imabari Towel
I am glad if you feel that Imabari towels will make your daily life more comfortable. You are gonna love them! In fact, when I use other towels after Imabari towels, I feel them rough fibers and hard to the touch. The prices of Imabari towels are not cheap, but I truly felt that they are worth it.
There are three line-ups on the website where I often purchase traditional Japanese crafts. You can choose the one that fits your needs! Take a look and try Imabari Towels!
34 * 90 (FACE Towel)
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| Imabari Bath and face towel from TAMATEX |
2. BATH TOWEL (2-PIECE SET) | SARA-LA |IMABARI TOWELS
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| Imabari Bath towel 2 piece |
3. BATH TOWEL | SARA-LA | IMABARI TOWELS
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| Imabari Bath towel |
Imabari towel for Present
Japanese people often give Imabari towels as baby and wedding gifts. As part of the Japanese culture, high quality daily necessities are given as gifts for these new beginnings. In particular, since towels are an important part of daily life that touches the skin every day, people give high grade towels such as Imabari towels. Of course, it will be your best decision to incorporate these wonderful towels into your own life. These towels will provide you with a no-stress feel in all situations, washing and bathing. That is why these kinds of towels make great gifts for your loved ones. This is how Japanese people show their affection to their loved ones.
For your loved ones who are graduating from school and entering the workforce, for your children who are starting their lives away from home, or for your parents who will be spending their retirement years relaxing together. Why not celebrate their new life with a gift of Imabari towel?
