Traditional techniques bring centuries of craftsmanship to Totoro.

Japan is a country of many seasons, and the one that’s about to begin is rainy. Known as “tsuyu” in Japanese, the rainy season generally hits the mainland around mid-June, which is just enough time for us to put up a seasonal decoration with Totoro as the star.

Sold by the Studio Ghibli specialty retail chain Donguri Kyowakoku, this new product is both decorative and functional as it’s a beautifully dyed tenugui. These traditional cotton cloths can be used as hand towels, handkerchiefs, head coverings, and wraps for lunch boxes or gifts, but a lot of the time they’re used as wall decorations, due to their beautiful designs.

▼ This tenugui has a particularly beautiful design called “Rain Stripe“

The rainy scene, depicting Totoro in his forest home, has been stenciled onto the fabric using a traditional hand-dyed method called “chusen”. The raindrops blend harmoniously with the background stripes, which are slightly wavy as opposed to being straight, in a style known as “yoroke-jima” (“wobbly stripes”).

Because the fabric is dyed using traditional techniques the colours may bleed slightly, especially at the beginning of use. The more you use it, the more character it will develop over time so you can enjoy the unique colours that only an authentic hand-dyed tenugui can offer.

▼ As there are no seams, the cloth dries quickly and has a stronger resistance to dirt and dust.

The cute frog in the corner of the tenugui completes the scene, with blue hues designed to keep you cool as the humidity rises.

With each tenugui hand-dyed individually by a craftsman, these are like miniature works of art, and they can be purchased for 3,740 yen (US$26), at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online, while stocks last.

Source, images: Donguri Kyowakoku
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