Overview
Ramie split by fingernail, spun by hand, woven, then bleached on the snow; UNESCO Intangible Heritage.
About this place
Echigo-jofu (越後上布) is a fabric of Echigo, Japan on national Important Cultural Properties listing in 1955, and UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list since 2009. It is made from fine bast fiber from the ramie plant (Boehmeria nivea), also called hemp, although not directly related to cannabis hemp. After it is woven on a jibata backstrap loom (地機), the fabric is spread on snowfields (yuki-zarashi) where ultraviolet light from the sun creates ozone and bleaches it white. Echigo-jofu has even been found in the Shōsōin repository from over 1,200 years ago. The production of Echigo-jofu is recorded in detail in Hokuetsu Seppu, the encyclopedic work of human geography describing life in the Uonuma area.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Key facts
Founded / opened：Nara period Highlights / collection：Hand-spun ramie thread, Snow bleaching Genre：Textiles and dyeing
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Before you go
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Echigo Jofu
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