Tango Chirimen: Factory Visit & Conversation

Tango chirimen is a silk crêpe fabric characterized by its textured surface which has been made for over 300 years in the Tango region of Kyoto Prefecture.

Renowned for its thread-twisting expertise, the manufacturer Tayuh Textile Industry has been producing Tango chirimen in the Tango region since its founding in 1931. Japan House London offers participants a special opportunity to take an online live guided tour of Tayuh’s factory in Tango led by Managing Director Tamoi Hayato. Learn about Tango chirimen and the highly skilled craftspeople who produce it.

During the event Tamoi is joined in conversation by Sudō Reiko, whose innovative works are featured in Japan House London’s exhibition MAKING NUNO Japanese Textile Innovation from Sudō Reiko. As Design Director of leading textile design firm Nuno, Sudō has collaborated with Tayuh to create the fabric Papillon, which is on display on the Ground Floor of Japan House.

During this live online event there is an opportunity for registered guests to ask questions to the speakers.

This event is moderated by Japan House London Programming Director, Simon Wright.

About the Speakers

Tamoi Hayato

Tamoi Hayato is Managing Director of Tayuh Textile Industry Co Ltd. Since its founding in 1931, Tayuh has been producing Tango chirimen in the Tango region of Kyoto Prefecture. After working at a general wholesaler of kimono in Tokyo, Tamoi took over the family business from his father in 2002 and became the third CEO. He introduced wide textile looms to a factory that had previously specialized in Japanese-style clothing. This enabled the company to also produce fabrics sufficiently wide enough to make western-style clothing using the techniques of Tango chirimen. Since 2019, Tamoi has been Deputy Director of the Tango Textile Industrial Association.

Sudō Reiko

Sudō Reiko was born in Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture. After serving as a textile laboratory assistant in the Department of Industrial, Interior, and Craft Design at Musashino Art University, she helped found Nuno Corporation. As Nuno's Design Director, she combines Japanese traditions of dyeing and weaving with cutting-edge technology to create a wide range of innovative textiles. Sudō received an honorary MA degree from the University for the Creative Arts (UK), and has been an Emeritus Professor at Tokyo Zōkei University since 2019. Since 2008, she has worked in fabric planning and development for Mujirushi Ryōhin (MUJI) and the Tsuruoka Textile Industry Cooperative, and in design advising for AZU. She joined MUJI's Advisory Board in 2016. Recipient of the Mainichi Design Award, the Rosco Design Prize, the JID Award, and many other honours, Sudō has received high acclaim within Museum of Modern Art (USA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA), Boston Museum of Art (USA), the Victoria & Albert Museum (UK) and The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (Japan) among many others. Representative projects include textile designs for Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, the Tokyo American Club and Oita Prefectural Art Museum. Sudō is frequently invited to give lectures and hold exhibitions around the world, including the major Koi nobori Now! textile installation at the National Art Center Tokyo in 2018 and Sudō Reiko: Making NUNO Textiles at the Centre for Heritage Arts & Textile Hong Kong in 2019.