This tenugui was made by Chikusen of Nihonbashi in Tokyo.

Known principally as maker of yukata and kimono, the firm seek a superior quality of fabric for use in their limited tenugui collections. The dye process is completed by hand in the chusen style, with glue and pigment applied to a mould.

The design in this case is a folk story that shows the important role of bamboo in Japanese mythology. The story of Princess Kaguya is generally known in Japanese as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and it begins with a discovering in a bamboo forest. The scene is depicted here, with the Chikusen logo in the bottom left hand corner.

The tenugui is 34cm by 93cm, and is 100% cotton.

About Chikusen

Since the flowering of style in the late Edo period, Chikusen has worked in fabric and kimonos. Based in the Nihonbashi district synonymous with Tokyo, the firm’s forebear was founded in 1842. It grew through its association with kabuki and ability to serve the trends of new Edo consumer class. Now in the fifth generation leadership of the Ogawa family, the company applies the same principles it always has: to transfer the aesthetics and styles of Tokyo to fabric through dye. Known as a kimono and yukata maker, Chikusen makes a wide range of items completed with hand dying processes.