Japanese Kumihimo & Cord Crafts

About this book

A Japanese cord is never just a tie — it laces armour, finishes the kimono, seals the treasure box and carries a gift's meaning in its knot. This is the complete English guide to that world: 200 entries covering the stands, bobbins and braid structures themselves, the silk and dyeing behind them, the great cord regions of Iga and Kyoto and the houses that braid there, the obijime and the whole grammar of kimono cords, the working cords of mizuhiki, sanada-himo, tea, scrolls and shrines, and a full practical part on learning, buying, commissioning and care.

Every entry follows the same four fields — Origin & Tradition / Material & Making / Form & Character / Seeing, Buying & Care — so stands, regions, obijime and paper knots can be compared side by side. The book is honest about what it is: a guide without photographs that teaches you to judge a braid by structure, density and knot, to read a formality ladder and a knot's meaning, and to tell hand work from machine work without being fooled by either. Written and produced in Japan.