Ojiya Chijimi

Lightweight ramie crepe textile woven in this Niigata valley since before the seventeenth century. The crinkled texture comes from tightly starching weft threads before weaving, then kneading the finished cloth in warm water to release them and pull the fabric into fine wrinkles. The word chijimi means 'shrink' in Japanese. Ojiya's humid winters keep the brittle thread from snapping during weaving, and in late winter the finished cloth is laid across snow-covered fields for several days so sunlight and melting snow bleach the whites and soften the colors. Together with the related Echigo jofu fabric from nearby Minami Uonuma, it holds UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status.