niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

— Looking back on tamaki niime’s 2025: there was the creation and exhibition of ORIAI works utilising fabric scraps in collaboration with Ayumi Adachi for the Expo; the provision of one-of-a-kind textiles for the cover of Tadanori Yokoo’s large-format art book; the opening of the community hall Niime Residence in Viime Village; the reopening of tamaki niime Machida… the list goes on and on. It was truly a packed year. But first, I’d like to start with your trip to India—something we haven’t yet heard the details about.

Tamaki: Didn’t I already talk about India?

— I really wanted to hear the full story. You went to visit traditional dyeing regions, didn’t you?

Tamaki: The reason I decided to go to India is this… If things continue as they are, Japanese manufacturing will keep shrinking—and that applies to Banshu-ori as well. We try to do as much as possible ourselves, and whether it’s weaving or sewing, we’ve been working to create systems that allow the businesses we work with to keep going without their work drying up. But even if we say that, the reality is that when everything around you is declining, it becomes very difficult.

— I see.

Tamaki: When thinking about how to face that reality… we tried doing ‘purely domestic’ manufacturing, and ran straight into the wall of how costly it is. And then there’s the fact that handcrafted techniques that have already disappeared in Japan simply can’t be obtained, no matter how much you want them. Things like hand-spinning yarn and hand-weaving fabric—can that exist as an industry? The answer is no. You can ask individual artists, but beyond that, there’s no route. That’s the current state of Japanese manufacturing.

— Right.

Tamaki: I don’t think hand-weaving is inherently better than machine weaving—each has its pros and cons. But if, for example, we were in a prolonged power outage and machines couldn’t be used, I’d hate for manufacturing to come to a complete stop. We’ve long talked about gathering handlooms, hand-knitting machines, and hand-spinning tools at the Niime Residence so we can use them in emergencies. And when it comes to India… its traditional methods still work effectively in industry.

— Incredible…

Tamaki: Some people use no power at all—everything is done by hand. They burn firewood, dye with plants in cauldrons—and this is completely normal! And there’s steady work, things circulate. Seeing that with my own eyes, I honestly felt jealous.

— So handicraft is still a functioning industry.

Tamaki: Questions of quality or aesthetic sense have to be set aside for the moment. First,you need to see it with your own eyes, to confirm it, and see whether it can be improved. Just as when I first came to the Banshu-ori region years ago, India still has regions with incredibly high levels of technical skill. I wanted to visit as many as possible. I hadn’t gone before because if you just visit like a tourist, they won’t show you the inner workings. But this time, I was introduced to a woman who has been working in India for about ten years. Through her, I was able to observe the actual work, the real sites, and then discuss what can and can’t be done, at what cost. I wanted to see that, including future possibilities.

— That sounds like a wonderful connection.

Tamaki: As a result, I felt there are definitely similarities to Japanese production regions. Using traditional methods, dyeing natural fibres, producing for export based on orders from overseas—America, Japan, and elsewhere. Whether it’s handwork or machinery, the structure is similar to OEM culture: the technical skills are there, and the ordering side provides the designs. It made me think that early Banshu-ori, or Japan long ago, might have been similar. And that means India could face the same future Japan did, sooner or later.

— That’s true…

Tamaki: So if we just jump on that system and say ‘great!’, it doesn’t make the future any better. I want to change something. Ultimately, I hope to build a system where we can create one-of-a-kind pieces together with people in India.

— tamaki niime’s way of making things is spreading all the way to India.

Tamaki: The distance is the biggest challenge. We can’t do everything all at once, so I’m thinking about how to proceed. First, we’ll determine whether the kinds of things tamaki niime makes here can be made there. And if they can, whether we can work with local people to ensure they become truly one-of-a-kind.

— You showed me photos of dyeing sites—where did you visit?

Tamaki: We saw dyeing, weaving, embroidery, cotton harvesting, hand-spun yarn… all in different regions. Every kind of handicraft exists within India. And it looks like we can get very good cotton, similar to Japanese native cotton. We could buy it ourselves and run it through our own spinning process.

— Like a treasure trove of handicraft…

Tamaki: Being able to buy cotton from people whose faces you know is incredible. If you say you want dozens of kilos, they’ll make it for you. We’re moving forward positively with that. And beyond materials, creatively as well—using India’s traditional techniques, just like when we first encountered Banshu-ori with Mr Nishikaku, I want to see how far we can go in translating them into tamaki niime–style works.

— So the creative field shifts from Banshu-ori to India.

Tamaki: Exactly. Once you understand the techniques, ideas naturally come up—how I would want to use them. I’ll need to be on-site myself. Within this distance, how much can we overcome? If we can go multiple times and create together, I think it would be fascinating.

— Is production in India completed domestically?

Tamaki: Yes. Some products are completed entirely within one village; others move between regions for dyeing, weaving, and embroidery. They also collaborate—combining embroidery from one region with traditional garments from another.

— Is that mediated by designers?

Tamaki: No, it’s more like company owners talking directly—‘let’s collaborate,’; and then proposing the result to designers. It feels like an old Japanese town factory. And delivery times are long—people staying locally get priority (laughs).

— (laughs)

Tamaki: People move based on feelings, right? If you’re waiting that patiently, they’ll try harder for you. It really feels like Showa-era town factories. That said, many craftspeople don’t speak English, and embroidery workers often work from home, so communication becomes a relay. If that relay fails, misunderstandings can happen—that’s a concern.

— I see… There are many local realities.

Tamaki: Traditional Japanese techniques, such as full shibori dyeing for kimono, still exist there. So tamaki niime shibori garments wouldn’t be impossible.

— Hmm…

Tamaki: All these incredible handcraft skills are still firmly alive. Apparently, there are about 360 people just doing tie-dye for shibori.

— Then sudden decline isn’t likely.

Tamaki: No. They can take as much work as you give them. Wages are low relative to skill, but they can live on them. It really resembles old Japanese factories. Schools end at noon, so children help their parents in the afternoon to learn skills and work.

— The economic gap with cities must be huge.

Tamaki: Enormous. We visited very rural areas—sheep and cows walking down the road. Everything is handmade, entirely domestic.

— In Hinduism, cows are sacred, right?

Tamaki: Yes. There was a place that felt ideal to me. On the same grounds as hand-weaving and dyeing, there were cows. A mother milked a cow and served it to us immediately. I thought, ‘This is it! This is what I want!’ (laughs). That was the reality I was seeking.

Tamaki showed photos and videos from India: women working looms, handmade buildings and tools—simple yet solid daily lives.

Tamaki: My interest in India originally stems from Gandhi. His movement encouraged Indians to wear Indian-made goods, right?

*Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was an Indian religious and political leader (1869–1948), widely known as the “Father of Indian Independence.” He advocated and practised nonviolent civil resistance (Satyagraha) and led India’s struggle for independence from British rule. His philosophy went on to influence civil rights movements around the world.

Khadi (hand-spun, hand-woven cloth) and self-sufficiency: Khadi—cloth made by spinning yarn on a spinning wheel (charkha) and weaving it by hand—became a symbol of the boycott of British goods (the Swadeshi movement). This movement sought to break dependence on British products, support rural economies within India, and restore economic self-reliance and dignity. Gandhi himself practised this ideal and lived a simple life.

Wearing traditional clothing: By abandoning Western suits and wearing traditional Indian garments such as the dhoti, Gandhi expressed solidarity with the poor and symbolised India’s independence and national pride.
(Based on a summary from Google search results and AI-generated overviews.)

Tamaki: That culture still genuinely exists. I want to preserve things too. But globally, Indian-made goods still aren’t highly valued, which leaves me conflicted.

— At a time when economic activity is becoming increasingly global, encountering India’s traditional, simple, and grounded culture of clothing and everyday life seems to have offered many hints for the future of tamaki niime.

Tamaki: Yeah, that’s right.

— Figuring out how to collaborate going forward will be a big challenge, but it feels like it could lead to some very interesting developments.

Tamaki: We’re still thinking about how exactly to move forward… The biggest hurdle is distance. Though once you actually go, it almost feels like, "Wait, we arrived already just by sleeping on the plane?” (laughs). This time, we mainly focused on research and observation, but in fact, we’ve already started placing orders and setting things in motion. The biggest gain was discovering organic cotton unique to India. The next challenge is whether we can spin that cotton into yarn using our own spinning machines, which we’re trying to do now. If that works, I’m thinking we might switch all the cotton we need annually to Indian-grown cotton.

— Whether it can be spun depends on…

Tamaki: The length of the fibres determines what kind of yarn you can make. It’ll be different from the yarns we’ve used before. I also want to go back and actually see the cotton fields with my own eyes. I’m really glad we went to India. If you don’t see things for yourself, nothing really begins.

Using organic cotton and making each stage of production visible—showing the faces of the makers—are central to tamaki niime’s approach to craftsmanship. In that sense, collaboration with people in India seems deeply meaningful for clearly conveying that message.

Tamaki: Of course, we’re not abandoning manufacturing in Japan. But I think it’s incredibly important to engage seriously in making things on a truly global, planetary scale, and to pass today’s technologies on to future generations—especially because they’re disappearing in Japan.

— By having a production base in India, tamaki niime’s earth-conscious approach to making things may become even more evident.

Tamaki: This time, we brought our dye specialist, Sakura Okamoto, with us, and it turned out to be a great stimulus for her own creative work as well. Last year, she created pieces inspired by what she felt after the opening of tamaki niime okurimon in Kamakura. This year, she said she wants to deepen her creations with India as her theme. So I really hope we can expand the creators’ perspectives through exchange and collaboration like this.

— That kind of mutual stimulation is so important—having a positive influence on each other.

Tamaki: The people from India are actually coming here next year. I want them to see our lab, and I’d be happy if they could gain inspiration through exchanges with our staff. If we could gather business owners with strong curiosity and openness, we might create something even more interesting together. I feel like having them come here could spark some real chemical reactions.

— They could stay at the niime house—almost like creating an “India village” within Niime Village.

Tamaki: We’re even talking about holding an “India Exhibition” around the time they visit. It would open a whole new chapter.

— That sounds wonderful. Speaking of big topics, aside from India, you also had a video shoot with Apple this year.

Tamaki: The footage was beautiful, wasn’t it? Just stunning… Being able to experience the creative process at a global company like Apple was an incredible learning experience for me personally, and I think it was great for our staff as well. What kind of visuals to create, what to communicate—it wasn’t a commercial for Apple products themselves, but rather about how tamaki niime shines because Apple exists. The mission of the filming team was to beautifully convey how tamaki niime uses Apple products in everyday life. Of course, Apple’s team handled everything, from the story onward.

— Really?

Tamaki: It was like filming a movie. I realised, “So this is how top-level commercials are made.” When Amazon filmed with us before, they also took a lot of time and care to convey our craftsmanshiich was very educational. But this time it was Apple. I love Apple, and I really resonate with Steve Jobs’s way of thinking too… Creating something new that can change the world is an amazing thing.

— There’s also that phrase “Stay foolish,” which feels connected to the idea of being a bit of a lovable screw-up, right?

“Stay foolish” is part of the phrase “Stay hungry, stay foolish,” which Steve Jobs quoted in his 2005 Stanford commencement speech. It means maintaining curiosity, not being satisfied with the status quo, and continuing to explore without being bound by conventional wisdom.
(Based on Google search results and AI-generated summaries.)

Tamaki: There are so many points I can relate to. Being able to create a film together with people like that was incredibly educational and fun. There was this strange, worldwide feeling to it, too.

— It’s amazing that a cutting-edge team of creators in the field of visual storytelling came together just to convey something.

Tamaki: Exactly. I got to see how they structured the visuals and managed the set—it was like watching a leader’s command in action.

— Where were the team members from?

Tamaki: From all over the world.

— Putting together a global tamaki niime filming team—that’s incredible.

Tamaki: The filming equipment came from Japan—gear from Kurosawa Film Studio. Along with their team, creative staff came from various countries, built everything together, and then headed back.

— That feels very contemporary—gathering top talent scattered across the world, working intensely as a team, then disbanding.

Tamaki: It was so cool. The level of focus was amazing. Even the way staff walked on set—everything was constantly adjusted and refined on the spot to further improve the visuals. The sense of being at a true creative site was overwhelming.

— Did tamaki niime make any specific requests?

Tamaki: We left it entirely up to them. We were the performers. At the initial discussion, we explained what kind of craftsmanship we do and what we stand for, and once they understood that, we respected them completely. In my case, there was almost no script—I was just feeding alpacas and other animals, so it was really fun (laughs).

— It’s like they saw right through your tendencies (laughs). Creating a film with such a top- level group must have been incredibly exciting.

Tamaki: It really was. And this time, Miyoko Ae worked so hard. She represented tamaki niime and communicated clearly in English. Because she carefully exchanged ideas to improve the work, I think the result became something truly wonderful.

— Being able to communicate directly must be a huge strength, especially as a spokesperson for tamaki niime.

Tamaki: Definitely. Everyone tries their best in Japanese, but English makes a big difference. She’s also great at reading the room and smoothing communication, which helped create a good atmosphere.

— So it was a collaborative work where tamaki niime and Apple came together in a great mood to create something meaningful.

Tamaki: We were just so happy they came that we leaned into it and enjoyed it wholeheartedly. The leader was a Japanese woman, and she said that, in general, filming involves worrying about inconveniencing the host, but since this was such a rare opportunity, she encouraged the staff to really engage with us. New experiences are fun, after all. Apple’s team was delighted too, and it coincided with the opening of their new Umeda store, where we even did a talk at the opening event.

— This year also included that collaboration with Apple… and speaking of sharing tamaki niime’s story, the book finally came out.

Tamaki: It did—at last. How many years has it been…?

— You’ll have to ask Mr Fujimoto about that (laughs).

Tamaki: I’ve forgotten when it all started (laughs). Originally, we planned to release it last year for the brand’s 20th anniversary, not the company's founding anniversary.

— I was involved in the production too, and we ended up shifting to a method based on Tamaki’s quotes from niime Encyclopedia, letting intuition lead. The design changes from page to page, and once we got going, we poured our feelings into it and finished it all at once.

Tamaki: There are so many ways to enjoy it.

— The cover breaks away from conventional book norms, too. We played around with the interior design, but apparently Gentosha didn’t request any revisions (laughs).

Tamaki: That’s a relief. I think it became a book we truly enjoyed making.

For more about the book Kimochi ii wa utsukushii (“Feeling Good Is Beautiful”), please take a look here.

An encounter with India, where traditional handcraftsmanship still thrives, and video production carried out in resonance with Apple’s creative team gathered from around the world. Embracing both tradition and the cutting edge, tamaki niime’s creative journey continues its evolution without slowing down.

Tamaki: After spending this past year reviewing our accounting and production systems, I feel we haven’t quite reached the truly exciting, inspiring kind of craftsmanship I envision yet. We’re at about 60 or 70 points—but to reach 90, there are still areas where I can raise quality and production volume by getting more involved. I trusted and delegated to each team, but in hindsight, I left some parts to them that I should have kept for myself. I want to expand the possibilities of creation so we can work more efficiently while still making interesting things, and help each team shine even more by doing this together. And if that results in a flood of exciting works, then that would be amazing.

Looking ahead to 2026, the milestone year marking the company’s 20th anniversary,

Tamaki is nurturing new ideas that may become a turning point for the brand.

Thank you very much for reading Encyclopedia of niime again this year.

Wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year!

〈To be continued in a New Beginning version〉

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.