Chances are most people haven’t given thought to indigo since they learned it was one of the colors of the rainbow.
But if you look for it, indigo is everywhere (for one, it’s used to dye blue jeans). That’s been the case for centuries.
“Indigo is universal,” said Ann Asakura, co-founder of Honolulu’s Temari Center for Asian and Pacific Arts and a presenter during a Saturday series of workshops at the Hawaii Japanese Center in Hilo.
Lessons in indigo dyeing, suminagashi (Japanese marbling) and sashiko (repairing and remaking garments) were offered.
Each topic will be covered again today through demonstrations and lectures, which take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Hawaii Japanese Center. They are free to the public, with a supply fee to participate in hands-on indigo dyeing.
On Saturday morning, 17 people gathered around a table at the center murmured as they examined a 100-year-old indigo fabric swath, dyed in Japan and still retaining its saturated blues despite its age. Some reached for their phones to take photos of the stenciled patterns and designs.
Temari and the Hawaii Japanese Center last partnered in 2015, teaming up to advance a common goal: sharing and teaching aspects of art and culture that were slowly being forgotten.
In the 1970s, Asakura was living in England and frequently visited collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Some of the collections featured Japanese art and art materials, such as katagami stencils, but Asakura found that she didn’t know what the materials or the art forms themselves were.
The visits inspired her to learn more about Japanese arts as well as other Asian and Pacific crafts.
“When I came back to Hawaii, nobody was teaching (that),” Asakura said. “We were very Eurocentric.”
In 1979, Asakura and Reynold Choy founded Temari.
Saturday’s workshop drew people from a variety of backgrounds, from artists to teachers.
Three Hilo High students attended to learn more about the indigo dye process so they could volunteer their services during the demonstration day.
Tyler-Trenten Kuanoni explained how he’d learned to fold fabric to create rows and lines of blue and white, and how to bunch fabric to create circles.
“Then you start abstract thinking (about the design),” he said. “It’s pretty cool.”
Some participants used binder clips, chopsticks and even CDs to create white spaces against the deep blue background.
The way a dyed piece will turn out is “all a surprise,” said Roslyn Moresh. Moresh teaches bookbinding and planned to use her fabric as a book cover.
Indigo comes in more than 130 varieties, and has been used in cultures as varied as Edo-era Japan and modern Moroccan Tuareg tribes.
In Hawaii, King David Kalakaua planted an immense crop on the central plains of Oahu, where Schofield Barracks is now. The indigo fields are gone, but some plants still grow in places such as Mililani.
Some Mililani plants were in Asakura’s own backyard, sparking her interest in learning how to use the dye.
On Hawaii Island, indigo can be found in parts of Ka‘u.
Natural indigo dye is made by plucking tiny leaves from the plant and fermenting them with ash or urine to extract the rich color. The process is time-consuming.
“You’re going to be really happy the Dutch invented synthetic indigo,” Asakura told the class.
Synthetic or not, indigo dye can only be used on natural fibers such as cotton, linen and silk. Certain types of wool and rayon also work. The indigo particles in the dye cling to the fibers after being soaked.
Once in the dye vat, fabric turns green. It’s only on being exposed to oxygen in the air that it begins to take on a new hue.
While students waited for their dye to set in, they stopped to look at three kimonos hanging nearby, all of which are part of the Hawaii Japanese Center and all of which started the day discolored and faded. A dip in the indigo vat changed that.
“They’ve been given new life,” said attendee Tom Goya.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
