Kyoto Black "Kyo Kuromontsuki Zome"

Twenty years ago, they created a unique black color by switching to reactive dyeing, which does not use Azo dyes, in pursuit of safety. Since reactive dyes are used instead of Azo dyes, the color is resistant to fading.

Kyo Kuromontsuki Zome is one of Japan's proud dyeing techniques that has been developed to date using Kyoto's groundwater, which is suitable for dyeing, and the dyeing techniques of craftsmen who are relentless in their pursuit of the finest black.
It has been designated as a traditional craft by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The history of black dyeing dates back to the 10th century, and it is said that it was established as black crest dyeing in the Edo period around the 17th century. At that time, it was used for the robes of monks and the coat of arms of samurai families.
Since the beginning of the Meiji era (1868〜1912), demand has increased for Haori and Hakama with black crests, which are formal wear worn during ceremonial occasions.
Even today, it is worn as the primary formal attire in black Tomesode worn for celebratory events such as weddings, mourning clothes worn at funerals, and costumes for traditional performing arts such as Kabuki and Noh theater, Gion Geisha, and Sumo wrestling.

The overall Japanese Kimono market was worth about 2 trillion yen in 1975, but it has now fallen to about 200 billion yen. The market for Kyo Kuromontsuki Zome is no exception, and has fallen from 3 million pieces per year to less than 5,000 pieces per year.
At its peak, there were more than 100 Kuromontsuki cooperative members, but currently there are only three, and the association will be disbanded in March 2022.
The traditional black dyeing industry is on the verge of collapse.
In order to popularize Kyo Kuromontsuki Zome, in addition to existing Kimono fans, I would like to encourage consumers who are unfamiliar with this dyeing technique to pick up our products and learn about the benefits of it. We hope that this tradition will survive.
I sympathized with Kyoto Montsuki Co., Ltd.’s vision “Traditional industries cannot be inherited unless traditional industry techniques evolve to fit modern lifestyles.”
We would like to change this current situation by leveraging the knowledge and experience we have cultivated in the fashion industry both in Japan and around the world to create products that make a variety of customers think, “It's cool!” and “I want to wear it!”.

We have tied up with Mr. Arakawa, the president of Kyoto Montsuki Co., Ltd., a long-established company in Kyoto, to dye it for us. Since its founding in 1915, they have pursued “blacker, more beautiful, and color-fast black'' as a dyer specializing in black.
The company utilizes the technology that it has cultivated over many years to dye silk crests, which are extremely difficult to dye, and uses a unique technique of deep black processing on natural fibers such as cotton, linen, and wool, creating products that have not been found in western clothing up until now, achieving a deep black dyeing technique.
As a result, they succeeded in developing a unique technique called Shinkuro Kako. Kyoto Montsuki Co., Ltd., craftsmen, including Mr. Arakawa, are not satisfied with the current quality, and are updating dyeing techniques to continue the tradition and meet modern needs.

1. Creating a dyeing solution by mixing the uniquely developed dye and water.
2. Adding a non-toxic auxiliary agent to the dyeing machine. 3. Putting the clothes and the dyeing agent into the dyeing machine and mix them together. The auxiliary agent and the dye cause a chemical reaction that makes the color to be absorbed to the material easier.
4. Rinsing and washing over and over again. 5. Dehydrating and dry in the sun.
6. Finishing with Shinkuro Kako that is not only creates a beautiful black finish, but also makes the fabric somewhat water proof and gives it a silky feel.
7. Dehydrating and dry in the sun, again. The entire process takes two weeks.  

SOME-ISM is a platform that connects dyers and customers. The meaning of SOME-ISM is SOME = to dye, ISM = principle.There are various traditional dyeing cultures across Japan, such as Aizome (Japanese Indigo dyeing) in Tokushima and Doro Zome (mud dyeing) in Amami Oshima. These dyeing techniques usually use natural materials so they are characterized by natural colors and have been loved by Japanese people for many years. However, 99.99% of the clothing we currently wear every day is dyed with synthetic dyes. Since the late 1800s, the chemicalization of clothing dyes has progressed, leading to an era of mass production and mass consumption, which has placed a huge burden on the environment. As a result, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ranked the fashion industry as the second most polluting industry in the world. In addition, demand for the traditional Japanese dyeing techniques decreased dramatically due to the demand for more efficient mass production. Coupled with a decline in the labor force in the dyeing industry due to the declining birthrate, Japan's traditional dyeing culture is in decline.By meeting artisans from various dyeing industries, we are able to witness first-hand the beauty of the delicate colors expressed by the skilled hands of artisans, the efficacy of products obtained through natural dyeing, and the passion of artisans for their techniques. I made it. At the same time, I learned about the difficult situation that culture and business were in.After thinking about how we could help preserve this wonderful culture and technology for future generations, we thought that we could help craftsmen with online marketing and e-commerce, which they are weak at, so we started creating SOME-IMS, which connects craftsmen and customers. Ta. Through SOME-ISM , we want people not only in Japan but all over the world to learn about Japanese dyeing culture.