Bashofu: making cloth from banana fibre

Mature plants provide layered sheaths, which are stripped and sorted. Kijoka’s documented process includes cooking them in a wood-ash solution, washing them and scraping away unwanted material with a bamboo tool. Wide plant strips gradually become the finer material needed for thread.

The fibres are moistened and split to the required fineness, then joined with small weaver’s knots: one end is bent, while the other is knotted around it. In Kijoka’s process, ground weft yarn is wound by hand without twisting, while other threads are twisted to strengthen them and reduce fuzz. Kasuri patterns require planned resist tying and dyeing before weaving. Loom preparation, moisture during weaving, and the washing and finishing of the cloth each contribute to the result.

Bashofu served everyday clothing as well as uses connected with the Ryukyu court and tribute. Kijoka adopted local kasuri production in the late nineteenth century and raised looms in the early twentieth. Plain, striped and kasuri cloth involve different arrangements; the tradition has included technical and commercial change. With little farmland and many male carpenters working away, weaving became an important income source for women remaining in the village. A weaving association formed in 1940 sought better markets and technical instruction in response to low prices paid by middlemen, before war interrupted its work.

War interrupted production in Kijoka, where weaving restarted in 1945. Toshiko Taira returned in 1946 and helped its revival. New markets, organised production and training supported continuity. Kijoka bashofu received national Important Intangible Cultural Property recognition in 1974. Yoron’s related tradition has its own history; its production techniques were designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2020. Recognition brought more mainland orders and better prices; standardisation and certification labels followed in 1978 to reduce differences in quality. Revival involved rebuilding markets and quality control as well as preserving weaving skills.