A Collaboration of Traditions in the Beautiful Land of Mie

The prefecture of Mie has many popular spots, such as Ise Grand Shrine—attracting well over ten million visitors a year—the Kumano Kodo, and Iga Ueno Castle. Along with these appealing tourist attractions, Mie is also blessed with abundant, delicious foods, such as Matsusaka beef and Japanese spiny lobsters. Mie is known as ‘Umashi Kuni (beautiful land)’, as that was what it used to be called in the Nihon Shoki, but the title’s meaning is not limited to the land’s rich waters and mountains. It contains a wider significance than simply being ‘a place of beauty and fulfillment.’ It was an important foundation during the development of Japanese culture, and, in fact, all kinds of traditions and local industries have been nurtured throughout Mie Prefecture.

Matsusaka cotton, sensationally popular since the Edo Period, is one such example. ‘Matsusakajima’, a stylish pattern shaded with indigo-dyed threads, spread in popularity and was said to sell over 500,000 tan (~3,030,000 metres) every year when Edo had a population of just 1,000,000 people. The spinning and weaving technology has been passed down by Matsusaka for over five centuries. As of now, ‘Miito Orimono’, founded in 1874, is the only manufacturer of weaving machines. If you look around the workshop, you will see rows of antique weaving machines, used since the Showa Period.

‘Modern machines weave fabric so neatly that they can’t reproduce the unique texture of Matsusaka cotton,’ says Mr. Yuya Nishiguchi, the sixth president. They have inherited the tradition of Matsusaka cotton to the finest detail.

In Iga, kumihimo has been used for decorating accessories and obijime sashes for kimonos for many generations. ‘Iga Kumihimo’ was selected to be a traditional handicraft of Japan in 1976.  Although the demand for conventional use has decreased as time has passed, Mrs. Etsuko Maezawa says optimistically, ‘It’s fun trying to make new goods while we fulfill our customers’ orders.’ In recent years, mufflers and pouches made with kumihimo techniques have begun to be commercialized.

An ‘All Mie Project’ that Shines a Spotlight on Local Mie Products

The prefecture has created other wonderful traditional crafts and local products, such as Japanese paper, woodwork, seafood, and processed food. The ‘All Mie Project’ will attempt to shine a spotlight on the charms of those items. We have gathered a special selection of businessmen together and have had many discussions about developing their goods, which transcend the stereotypes of their regions and jobs. We aimed to weave new networks that would create chemical reactions, and collaborations that would bring out the potential of everyone’s material. For example, the aforementioned Miito Orimoto manufactured white cloth for dresses under their unique brand ‘Miito Ori.’ The Maezawa Kumihimo shop made a kumihimo ribbon about eight centimetres wide. When they stitched several translucent threads together, they formed into cloth, and then the mini tote bag was reborn as a product unlike any other.

The businessmen in charge of representing Mie’s rich food culture are all participating in the ‘All Mie Project’. The ‘Yamatou’ of Minamiise is a revolutionary seafood product made by solar drying the fish, delicately removing its bones, and skewering it. Also, two old shops, ‘Shimozu Shoyu’, founded in the Edo Period, and ‘Matsujiro’s Store’, a honey store founded in the first year of the Taisho Period, have collaborated to create new products. Using these products as the ingredients, a new arranged menu has started to be made under the supervision of Ueki Toshiro, a popular chef.