Maybe you have seen these shades of blue in a boutique somewhere. Maybe you saw some “noren” (doorway curtain) that had this color. For the longest time I had no idea where indigo came from, but on a recent trip to Tokushima I got to find out (photos to follow later). Right now I want to introduce to you the Awa indigo and how they do it. Watch this:
The local government once again makes some great promotion material and gives the indigo blue a boost as its tone, and style, start to become better known.
While trawling through Youtube I found this very interesting video by someone who lives within the blue indigo, and celebrates the marks it leaves on him everyday. I thought this was a marvel:
South Africa’s Visi Magazine does a nice short feature on indigo dyeing in Tokushima. Read this: https://www.visi.co.za/watch-the-story-behind-indigo/
So, when you come to Shikoku, and if you would like to see where the world of deep blue comes from that splashes across cultures and fashion, you need to go to Tokushima and get your own hands deep in water.
When you come to Japan, and explore deep Japan, you can see some very interesting things here. But not only see. You can do it too. If you want to explore and create something unique, this is the place to do it.
Safe travels!