Niigataology

  Echigo-jofu is a Traditional Fabric that uses Yuki-sarashi Techique that is produced with deep-snow, high-humidity winters, to make it sensitive to dryness. It uses Fine Bast Fiber from Ramie Hemp Plant (Boehmeria nivea) that is traditionally moisturized with saliva, torn with fingernails (Teomimi), and hand-knitted into “Kasuri-thread” a fabric that is woven into blurred designs with a Izari-loom (Backstrap Rag Weaver, Jp. 地機).  Echigo Jofu is a linen-fabric of Echigo and listed as a National Important Property (1955) and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2009). Minamiuonuma City and Ojiya City Echigo-jofu is where to find it and in ancient times Echigo-jofu was made in Uonuma Echigo-jofu, Kubiki Echigo-jofu, and Koshi Echigo-jofu. It is a preserved treasure of Todai-ji Temple (Nara Prefecture).  History, Tenpyo Shoho Era (749-757 AD), Echigo Province, Echigo-jofu was presented to the Imperial Court Hisabiki District and would be housed in Shosoin. It ...

Hokuriku region 北陸地方 is called "Hokuriku chihō" and is located in the northwestern part of the main island of Japan "Honshu". It is a place that shares the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Yamanashi. The selected areas are similar to the former Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan. The Hokuriku region is known for traditional culture that originated from elsewhere that has been long lost along the great trading route of the Taiheiyō Belt: Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Osaka, Hyōgo, Wakayama, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka and Oita. The Hokuriku region includes the four prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata and Toyama. 

  "Snow Country" (雪国, Yukiguni) is a term used to describe a region of Japan known for its heavy snowfall and distinct winter climate with the main three being: Niigata Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, and Nagano Prefecture. The term originally comes from the title of a famous novel by the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata, Snow Country (Yukiguni), published in 1935. In the book, Kawabata vividly portrays the beauty and hardships of life in rural, snowy Japan. Geographically, Yukiguni refers to several areas of Japan, primarily in the northern and central parts of Honshu, the main island, where winter snowfall is particularly heavy. These regions are characterized by cold temperatures, long winters, and large amounts of snow, sometimes reaching several meters in depth. Snow Country is to mark Japan’s snowiest areas that are on the west-side of the Japan Archipelago mountain chain where cold seasonal winds blow moisture towards the mountains where they then turn into snow. Snow f...