Somesho in Tokushima
Somesho – Takimoto san grew up in Tokushima and after 10 years working in Tokyo, he longed to be back in nature. In his late 20’s he moved south to Kyoto to study the traditional techniques of natural-dying before eventually settling in Kamiyama, Tokushima where he could live in the mountains with an abundance of natural resources and ingredients. Working with pigments found in local fruit, flowers and barks, Takimoto san’s practice is largely dictated by weather, seasonality and water available via the passing stream. He collects persimmons from a tree his elderly neighbour planted on the nearby mountain to create his kakishibu dye. For Range-17 our S4 shirts were dyed twice using this solution before being turned grey with an iron mordant. This was our third season working with Takimoto san.