Takahashi River Shijuku is a program that aims to achieve the SDGs in the Takahashi River Basin and develop people who can play a central role in community activities.
Takahashi River Shijuku, 2nd term is being held from June to September 2021, with around 30 lectures planned by instructors active in the Takahashi River Basin.
On Saturday, July 3, 2021, as part of a course to deepen understanding of jeans, a specialty product of Kojima, Kurashiki City, indigo dyeing and vat dyeing experiences were held by Ikegami Yoshiyuki, a former Community Revitalization Cooperator in Kurashiki City.
I took part in the dyeing experience and learned about dyeing alongside the students. Here, I’ll introduce the course.
The information presented here is as of the article’s publication in July 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Overview of Takahashi River Shijuku
Takahashi River Shijuku is a program run by the Takahashi River Basin School, a general incorporated association, as a project commissioned by Kurashiki City. Through learning about the history, culture, industries, and fieldwork of the Takahashi River Basin, it aims to foster community development, nurture people who will support a sustainable region, and inspire action.
There are two course options:
- “SDGs Exploration Course,” which includes practical training and presentations
- “Auditor Course,” which involves attending selected lectures
The first term of Takahashi River Shijuku was held from November 2020 to February 2021, and the second term began in June 2021.
The opening ceremony was held on Sunday, June 27, 2021, and around 30 lectures are planned before the closing ceremony on Sunday, September 26, 2021.
The lectures fall into the following five categories:
| Category | Content |
|---|---|
| SDGs Vision | Lectures where participants can hear from active practitioners about the Takahashi River Basin’s 2030 vision and current initiatives |
| General Knowledge | Lectures to learn about the history, culture, industries, and other aspects of the Takahashi River Basin |
| Skills | Lectures to acquire the skills and know-how needed to carry out community activities, including presentations, using IT tools, and making use of blogs and social media |
| Local SDGs Mission | A workshop to reinterpret the 17 SDGs as goals for the Takahashi River Basin and set targets |
| Fieldwork | Experiential learning about community revitalization in the Takahashi River Basin |
The first term had three categories: SDGs Vision, General Knowledge, and Skills. From the second term, Local SDGs Mission and Fieldwork were newly added.
For more details, visit the special page for “Takahashi River Shijuku.”
Introducing Ikegami Yoshiyuki, representative of land down under
Instructor Ikegami Yoshiyuki’s background
With the goal of making jeans that circulate resources and produce no waste, Ikegami launched the apparel brand “land down under” in January 2021.
Interested in making clothes since his student days, Ikegami moved to Kojima, Kurashiki City—the birthplace of domestically made jeans—as a Community Revitalization Cooperator.
Through his work as a Community Revitalization Cooperator, his relationships with local producers, and his involvement in clothing production, he says he began to question the structure of the textile industry, where products are mass-produced and then discarded.
He therefore came up with “circular jeans,” which produce no waste by reusing materials, based on the concept of a circular economy.
After completing his term as a Community Revitalization Cooperator in March 2021, he has continued working through land down under to share ideas and systems for circulating materials.
Lecture venue: “Ojigadake Rest House”
The lecture was held at the Ojigadake Rest House in Karakoto-cho, Kojima, Kurashiki City.
It is a Kurashiki City rest facility near the summit of Ojigadake Hill, overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.
From the Ojigadake Rest House, visitors can enjoy a wonderful view of the many islands of the Seto Inland Sea.
The first half of the lecture was held in a classroom on the facility’s first floor, followed by the dyeing experience on the rooftop.
What is fieldwork?
While serving as a Community Revitalization Cooperator, Ikegami conducted fieldwork in Kojima, Kurashiki City, and realized the need to make jeans based on a circular economy.
Ikegami deliberately began living in Kojima without a specific goal, visiting various places and gathering information to discover new business opportunities.
During the lecture, he explained the perspectives he had used in conducting fieldwork.
- Don’t go looking for problems
- Consider problems from multiple perspectives
- Fieldwork never ends
Don’t go looking for problems
When you decide in advance what the problem is, you end up seeing things from a biased perspective, making it difficult to think objectively.
Approaching local stakeholders with a biased opinion can also make it difficult to build good relationships.
He explained that it is important to gather information from a neutral standpoint without jumping to conclusions about what the problem is.
Consider problems from multiple perspectives
What benefits one person may be a problem for someone else.
For example, consider shop owners and nearby residents in a tourist area.
A large number of tourists visiting a town can boost business, but the bustle of a crowded town may also disrupt the peaceful lives of its residents.
He explained that considering the perspectives of many different people is important for identifying the true nature of a problem.
Fieldwork never ends
What is needed changes with the times.
It is impossible to fully understand something once and for all; it is important to keep observing and asking questions.
The words “Yesterday’s common sense becomes today’s nonsense. Yesterday’s nonsense becomes today’s common sense.” left a strong impression.
Basic knowledge for the indigo and vat dyeing experience
Why fibers take dye
Participants tried two types of dyeing: indigo dyeing and vat dyeing.
Both indigo dyeing and vat dyeing are apparently classified as vat dyeing.
“Vatting” means creating an alkaline reducing environment.
After the dye is absorbed into the fabric, it is exposed to air and oxidized. The dye particles then become insoluble and adhere to the fibers.
Indigo dyeing
A characteristic of indigo dyeing is that the dye particles are large.
Because large particles make the color more prone to fading, they create the distinctive character of jeans as they age.
Another dyeing method that is just as familiar as indigo dyeing is ai-zome (Japanese indigo dyeing).
In fact, the dye used for indigo dyeing is a petroleum-derived substance manufactured artificially.
By contrast, the dye used for ai-zome is a naturally derived substance obtained from indigo plants.
Apparently, both have the same molecular structure, but indigo dyeing can be mass-produced and its cost greatly reduced, so it is used for jeans sold commercially.
Ai-zome is made through a labor-intensive process, and apparently some ai-zome jeans cost hundreds of thousands of yen.
Sulfur dyeing
Unlike indigo dyeing, sulfur dyeing uses dye with small particles.
Once it adheres to the fibers, it is difficult for it to come back out, so it is less prone to fading than indigo dyeing.
Because it resists fading even when wet or rubbed, it is a dyeing method often used for work clothes.
We were told that this is a dyeing method they specialize in around Kojima, in the Setouchi region.
What the dyeing experience was like
Preparing the dye
After the lecture, we went up to the rooftop of Ojigadake Rest House for the dyeing experience.
The participants each brought a white towel or shirt.
▼Indigo dye
The dye is stored in powder form, so it is dissolved in water before use.
When I leaned close to the bucket of dye, I noticed a distinctive smell.
It smelled like the rotten-egg odor of hydrogen sulfide at a hot spring, but milder.
▼The dye before the fabric is dipped in it.
A purple film had formed where the dye solution was exposed to the air.
Apparently, oxidized dye was floating on the surface of the solution.
There were no solids beneath the film, only a solution of dye dissolved in water.
▼This is the sulfur dye.
Working the dye into the fabric
The dye is worked into the fabric by kneading it in the liquid.
It is dangerous to dye fabric with bare hands.
Because the alkaline dyes used for indigo and sulfur dyeing can dissolve proteins, we wear vinyl gloves to protect our hands while working.
In fact, where splashes of dye landed on my arm, I felt a slight stinging pain.
▼Looking closely at the vinyl gloves, you can see green and blue areas.
The green areas are the color of dye that has not yet oxidized, while the blue areas are the color of oxidized dye.
▼The fabric after the dye has been worked into it.
It looked slightly greenish.
I think subtle differences in color are something you can only learn through hands-on experience.
▼Next, the fabric is wrung out to remove excess dye.
Thin fabric is easy to wring out, but I found thicker fabric quite difficult, perhaps because I was wearing vinyl gloves.
Excess dye needs to be removed thoroughly, as it can cause uneven coloring.
Drying
This is what the fabric looked like after being wrung out.
It had been dark green or blue while soaking in the bucket, but once the dye was wrung out and the fabric spread open, it became a pale, cool-looking color.
Next, the fabric is hung out to dry, allowing the dye to oxidize and adhere to the fibers.
The sight of indigo- and sulfur-dyed fabric hanging out to dry against the backdrop of the Seto Inland Sea’s many islands felt like an iconic scene of Kojima, the town of textiles.
Rinsing
After being left in the wind for about 10 minutes, the fabric is rinsed with water.
After rinsing, the fabric is hung out to dry again.
If you want a deeper color, dip it in the dye solution again and repeat the steps above.
What the fabric looked like one week later
In fact, I also got to try dyeing a T-shirt with indigo.
▼My T-shirt after rinsing.
It was dyed a deep blue, but there seem to be uneven patches here and there.
Because the fabric was thick, it was difficult to wring out, and I could not get the dye to penetrate evenly.
It was disappointing, but learning how difficult the actual work is is also part of what makes this hands-on course valuable.
I took the T-shirt home, rinsed it again, and then let it dry.
It is surprising to see that what was a deep blue has changed to a pale blue.
Trying it for myself taught me many things that I could not have learned just by listening to a lecture, such as the smell, texture, and color. It was a very educational experience.
After the Dyeing Experience
Since becoming interested in Kojima’s jeans, I have started seeing the term indigo dyeing.
I knew only that it was the process of dyeing fabric blue, but experiencing it firsthand stimulated my five senses and left a deep impression on me.
The distinctive smell that lingers in your nose, the stinging pain from dye on your skin, and the color of the dye changing with each step of the process and over time.
Information gained through the five senses provides a level of stimulation that cannot compare with information gained from books or the internet.
The lecture was an opportunity to reaffirm that learning through experience provides more information than learning through text.
I also felt that it was a very fulfilling time, as I was able to experience local culture and exchange with instructors and participants active in the Takahashi River Basin.
It was a fieldwork experience that fulfilled both my senses and my heart.
Takahashi River Shijuku, 2nd Term Information
| Name | Takahashi River Shijuku, 2nd Term |
|---|---|
| Dates | Duration of Takahashi River Shijuku, 2nd Term: June 27, 2021–September 26, 2021 |
| Location | Ojigadake Rest House |
| Participation Fee (tax included) | For details, check the Takahashi River Shijuku website. 1. SDGs Exploration Course participants General: ¥12,000; students: ¥8,000 (includes in-person participation in all programs on the day and access to archived recordings) ※The fee is the same for in-person and online participation. 2. Auditors (participating in classroom lectures only) In-person: ¥1,500 per session (limited capacity); online or archived recordings: ¥500 per session ※A page accessible only to participants will be provided at a later date. ※Depending on the course, actual expenses may be charged separately. ※Some courses may be open to the public free of charge. |
| Website | Takahashi River Shijuku | Takahashi River Basin School |
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