We had the great honor of producing the 150th-anniversary commemorative sweatshirt for Kaikado, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The release is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, and it will be available exclusively at Kaikado in Kyoto. I was first approached by Mr. Takahiro Yagi, the sixth-generation head of Kaikado, sometime in 2023… but to be honest, I can’t quite remember when exactly. I sometimes wonder if I should get a dementia screening already. Time has been flying by at full speed, and I’m left astounded at how little I’ve been able to accomplish as it slips away (which apparently is also one of the signs of aging). After all, a quarter of this year has already passed.
The goal was to recreate the aged color of tinplate. I think the photo will make it clear, but on the left is a tin tea canister after a little over a year of use, and on the right is one that has been used for over 80 years. The aging and color change over time—what we might call “patina”—is remarkable. It turns into a hue that can’t be described using any existing color names. I was told that this transformation occurs because of the sweat components released from the hands when touched. Some people’s sweat is acidic, others’ is alkaline, meaning each person’s use of the canister results in a unique color. Knowing that the product reflects its user in this way is deeply appealing. I think that’s the beautiful story woven by using a kaikado tea canister.
That’s where the labyrinth began. Together with President Minakata of Kanekichi Industries, we conducted countless rounds of test knitting.
I can’t show them all here, but we started to get a sense of it when we tried combining gray mottled yarn with brown mottled yarn. President Minakata said, “Maybe brown is the key.”
From there, we decided to try inserting a solid, non-mélange, pre-dyed brown yarn. It was quite a long journey from that point as well, but we finally arrived at a shade of solid brown that seemed just right.
It took about seven to eight months, I think. When the sixth-generation Mr. Yagi said, “This is good!” I felt we had finally made it. We crafted this TSURIAMI loopback fabric with thoughts of Kaikado’s 150-year journey, and I hope you can feel something when you wear it. I believe this experience allowed us to rewrite the formula we’ve used until now for fabric-making. I also feel that it has laid the groundwork for our next major project. If we can realize it, it might become the most “otaku-level” TSURIAMI loopback fabric in the world. I don’t know when that will happen, but I hope you’ll look forward to it.
by Satoshi Suzuki