RIENZOME

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  • Rienzome Tenugui Cloth with Colorful Veggies (944)
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    Tenugui with Colorful Veggies (944)

    Veggie World. This beautiful tenugui celebrates the colorful presentation of a selection of vegetables. A perfect decoration for restaurant, cafes or stylish kitchens; either as towel or hung on the...
    $12.14
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  • Rienzome Tenugui Cloth with Salt Crystals (963)
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    Tenugui with Salt Crystals (963)

    Salt Crystals. A unique tenugui with 'sparkling' pattern that will bright up your room with its simple, but elegant design. As Japan's humidity makes it not ideal to produce salt, they collect it in...
    $12.14
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  • Tenugui with Beautiful Succulent plant (701)

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    Tenugui with Beautiful Succulent plant (701)

    Succulent plant???. A beautiful, colorful and pleasantly looking plant that is easy to raise and has a healing affect on those surrounding it. This vividly colored tenugui will be a beautiful...
    $14.17
  • Tenugui with Halloween Pattern (190)

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    Tenugui with Halloween Pattern (190)

    Halloween. A time for the ghosts and pumpkins to come out and play. You can hear the TRICK AND TREAT by just looking at this tenugui!"Tenugui" is often translated as "Japanese towel", but this...
    $14.17
  • Tenugui Christmas Eve (1045)

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    Tenugui Christmas Eve (1045)

    Christmas Eve. You better not pout, you better not cry! Cause Rienzome has got you covered for traditionally Japanese inspired Christmas decoration. The design almost makes you feel the warmth...
    $14.17
  • Tenugui with 'A Winter Memory' (383)

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    Tenugui with 'A Winter Memory' (383)

    Winter Time. The designer of this tenugui described his nostalgia every winter, as he reminisces over the warm and coziness of being surrounded by family and loved ones in the cold weather. Although...
    $15.18
  • Tenugui with Grove of Trees (1020)

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    Tenugui with Grove of Trees (1020)

    Autumn Trees. This tenugui is inspired by feeling the sunlight through a grove of trees which' leaves are falling down in autumn. The colors and pattern represent the leaves and the shadow in...
    $12.14
  • Tenugui with Ginkgo Pattern (969)

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    Tenugui with Ginkgo Pattern (969)

    Ginkgo biloba. As the official tree of Tokyo and an important sign in Japanese tea ceremonies, the Ginkgo sign is often seen in Japan. Ginkgo trees were one of the very few things to, although...
    $12.14
  • Rienzome Tenugui Cloth JAZZ edition (395)
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    Tenugui JAZZ edition (395)

    Jazz Trio. A classic jazz trio with piano, drums and base. Can you imagine the grooving melody through the beautiful, traditionally dyed cloth? "Tenugui" is often translated as "Japanese towel", but...
    $12.14
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  • Rienzome Tenugui Cloth with Red Autumn Leaves (278)
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    Tenugui with Red Autumn Leaves (278)

    Autumn Leaves. With Hanami, the Sakura Blossom viewing, in summer - the Japanese do "K??y??" in autmun; watching the beautiful scenery all over the country as the autumn changes the color of the...
    $15.18
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  • Tenugui with Giant Sunflower (260)

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    Tenugui with Giant Sunflower (260)

    Sunflower. This summery tenugui portrays a big sunflower rising up towards the bright blue sky. In the back ground a plane is taking off from behind the clouds. A real "feel food" tenugui that will...
    $15.18
  • Rienzome Tenugui Cloth with Flowery Swine-cress (3003)
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    Tenugui with Flowery Swine-cress (3003)

    Swine-cress. Enjoy the flower-spirit in this beautiful tenugui. A collaboration that allows you to enjoy not only the beautiful hand painted cloth, but also the floral pattern designed by a flower...
    $15.18
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Although the cloths themselves seem simple, the production process requires a steady hand and the eyes of a true artisan. The entire process involves up to ten craftsmen!

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Rienzome has been established in 1872 and beautifully crafts a variety of cotton textiles. From Tenugui, multi-purpose cotton towels that can be used as bandana, to wrap things or for decoration as wall tapestry; to Jinbei - Jinbei, a casual clothing for kids that can be used indoors or as pyjama. Noren curtains are dividers that hang at the entrance of a building or between rooms. And their scarves are popular year-round for their softness and traditional designs. 

Chusen Dyeing

Rienzome uses the ‘Chusen’ dying method, which is a hand dying technique that results in an intense print visible equally on both sides of the cloth, whereas printed versions will have one good- and one bad side. 

First of all, the fabric’s pattern will be drawn and carefully carved out on a special stencil paper. A bleach specialist is required to prepare the cotton cloths to get painted. 

It requires a mixture of seaweed and starch that helps keep the parts of cloth that do not need to be colored, clean. Several layers of cloth are painted at the same time, which means the artisan needs to be very careful, as once he makes a mistake, the entire roll of cloth will be wasted.  The starch-seaweed mixture is applied on each new layer and is also used to creates small dams around different areas where the paint with get captured in order to color patterns and decorations. 

Then, heated dye is released on top of the cloth and should only cover the parts left uncovered with the starch mixture. 

Craftsman often pour using a water can and with two hands at the same time! A vacuum below the cloth, operated with a foot pump, will pump all the paint down, allowing multiple layers to be dyed at once. The cloth then needs to be turned around so that the process can be repeated on the other side. Craftsman have to be extremely precise throughout the entire crafting process in order for the final result to be successful.

Finally, the painted cloths are washed in water to remove all the starch, left to sundry and rolled with a machine to remove all the wrinkles.  The cloth is then cut in smaller pieces depending on its intended use as tenugui towel or clothing.