THE MAIWAI SPIRIT

K. Suzuki — A maiwai isn't really a kimono in the traditional sense. The customary women’s kimono is made of silk. For maiwai, the material is cotton, so it's more humble but, at the same time, extremely loud. You could say that it is formal wear made for a fisherman. When you wear this out to a festival, you want to stand out from the crowd. The scenes drawn on the design, depict the fisherman’s most common catch, or involve imagery of auspicious symbols like a crane or a tortoise, or portray folklore stories like the seven lucky gods or the sea goddess Otohime of the Ryugu kingdom. There is also the hanten style which is shorter than the kimono and includes similar patterns without the kimono sleeves.

K. Suzuki — Our family has been in the trade for over ninety years now. We started in 1925. As a child, I always watched my father working. When I was twenty-two years old and straight out of university, I was looking for work elsewhere, but there weren’t any opportunities available due to the 1970s oil crisis. Working here came naturally to me since I had been familiar with the work process and flow ever since I was a little kid.  

R. Suzuki — When I was younger, I didn't really have any intention of continuing the family business.  I knew how difficult the work was, and I didn't find it appealing.  But, when I was older and thinking about my job prospects, I happened to see my grandfather's work displayed in Monterey, California. This was in the midst of my personal turmoil, when I was really contemplating what I was meant to do with my life.  It turns out that this was the work I was meant to do, where I could actually leave something meaningful behind.

K. Suzuki — First, we start with the design. The imagery is very important. The design is drafted onto three layers of washi paper and then hand-carved into a pattern. Some of the patterns are nearly one hundred years old, others are new. This process takes a long time as we have to be careful when thinking about the placement of the design, and the color combinations that will work best with the imagery.  

R. Suzuki — We start with a rough draft of the design before transferring the drawing onto the washi paper.  After that, we carve the drawing using a kogatana [small knife].  Since the garments are custom made, the clothing pattern is based on the customer’s measurements.  Once we have the clothing pattern ready, we decide where to place each drawing on the cloth. Then, the dyeing process begins.

K. Suzuki —  The first thing is to transfer the design to the cloth using a soy-based glue substitute. We spread the glue all over the pattern, and apply it evenly to the cloth on the carved sections. The pressure must be exact when doing this. I still do most of the placement as my son is still learning this step. Then, we generally use pigment paints for our work as they are less likely to fade in the sun and saltwater than the dyes made for traditional silk kimonos. We take a lot of time to prepare the desired pigments and, only when they are ready, we begin painting the design. There are specific steps that need to be taken to seal the design using soy glosses. When it’s fully dried, we can then dye the whole garment in indigo. It’s a long process. Finishing a piece in a month is impossible. It takes two, maybe three months to create a garment.

K. Suzuki — I'm sure that every craftsman faces many challenges. Even after forty years, I still have times when I'm not satisfied with the quality of my work and it doesn't turn out the way I want it to. I think every day I strive to create something that pleases me. I wasn’t taught these skills step by step. Back in the day, you learned by watching. I would watch and then try something on my own. This meant that I failed many, many times. But I learned from my mistakes. I would always try to create what I envisioned. This meant that I learned by mostly teaching myself.

R. Suzuki — I just started learning this craft five years ago. I would watch my father and then try to practice the steps myself. It’s all mimicry. When I first started, I couldn't really perform well most of the steps, so I preferred painting the colors on the designs since that was what I was best at. Now though, I like to draw myself. I can't do anything big yet, but I'm finally able to also carve the stencils out. I really like the carving, the drafting, and the designing.