Wickerwork weave

網代 ajiro

Wickerwork weave

The over-and-under plaiting of thin strips of bamboo, cedar or cypress used for fences, tea-house ceilings and baskets; a quiet, rustic weave motif.

Traditional woven-wood craft; date of use as a textile motif unknown

Ajiro is wickerwork mat plaited from thin strips of bamboo sheath, cedar, paulownia, reed or cypress bark, usually on the diagonal. It was used for fences, screens and the rustic ceilings and walls (ajiro-tenjō) of tea-ceremony houses, which gave it an association with wabi taste. The plaited look was then copied as an all-over pattern in stencil dyeing and weaving.

Ajiro ceilings and baskets are still made, and the weave appears on tenugui and men's kimono.

Technique catalog · draft for review

Every way to wrap, carry and wear a furoshiki.

The furoshiki.com archive, sliced into annotated steps with plain directions, plus techniques found in research.