A production area of Japanese cotton textiles.
Enshu.
This area, located in the western part of Shizuoka Prefecture, has been producing cotton textiles since the Edo period, and there are still a few weaving shops and processing plants, although the number is not large.
Kakegawa City is located on the outskirts of the area and was said to be the production area of Tenryusha in ancient times.
``Kaneta Textile Co., Ltd.'' was founded in 1955, when there were many companies producing cotton textiles, and it continues to exist today.
Due to the production background of the special fabric, it seems that they do not do business with any brand, but instead they place importance on what the brand aims for, what they are thinking about, and what they are trying to create, and they embody it. A machine shop.
When it comes to cotton textiles, we need to know the type of cotton that is the raw material, the place of production, whether it is harvested by hand or by machine, the spinning method, the number of twists, and whether it is a single yarn. Is it a double yarn?The count is a variation of thick 3rd count to 200 count and fine count.
There are so many options just for making thread.
In other words, the weaving process begins, and the weaving structures include plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, and multiple weave, as well as warp density, weft density, and density ratio of warp and weft.
The most important aspects include the dyeing process, yarn dyeing, jet dyeing, mercerization, resin, etc.
There are some differences that are generally not noticeable, but even if there is just one difference, the texture of the finished fabric will be completely different.We will continue to research and develop by understanding what the clothing brand wants and expressing it exactly. We are a very creative and progressive weaving shop that aims to achieve this goal.
Although we don't have a lot of them at our store, some of the branded fabrics that you buy are woven by Kaneta Orimono.
There have been many times when the clothes I bought were fabrics made by Mr. Kaneta without even realizing it.
Spring 2021.
Shinkansen, Kakegawa Station.
Here, I met up with Mr. Ota from Kaneta Orimono and a certain brand.
If you drive from Kakegawa Station, you will find yourself on a mountain road.
Crossing the deep green mountains,
The area is surrounded by wind power generation and idyllic scenery, perhaps because it is close to the sea.
Kaneta Textile Co., Ltd. is located there.
Kaneta Orimono's motto may seem very simple, but it is an impressive one.
``Manufactures that can only be woven by Kaneta Orimono and cannot be imitated anywhere else.'' There are countless clothing fabrics that exist both now and in the past, but as the word suggests, the fabrics produced by Kaneta are overwhelming.
When I first saw it, it was completely new to me.
Encounter with the unknown.
That is Kaneta Orimono's fabric.
A building located in a corner of a large site.
This is the entrance to the mill that produces extraordinary cotton fabrics.
As soon as you step inside, you notice a temperature and humidity that is clearly different from outside.
Then there was the loud sound of many looms operating.
The air conditioning was carefully controlled to ensure proper weaving of the fabric, and although it was cool, I felt humid and humid.
As you walk a little further from the entrance, the sound gets louder and you will see many looms lined up.
The shuttle loom is a very old machine that is closest to hand-woven construction.
22 shuttle looms.
Three rapier looms.
In the Enshu region, one of Japan's major production areas, Kaneta is the only one with a shuttle loom of this size.
Shuttle looms have a narrow fabric width and can weave deep fabrics that bring out the texture of the material at the slowest pace.
The heddles cause the warp threads to move up and down alternately, and the weft threads are inserted one by one along their path to weave the fabric.
In this way, approximately 50 meters of fabric is woven over time.
This is called ittan (once).
The warp threads are set on the shuttle loom before the weft threads enter.
The process of setting the warp threads one by one on the loom is called "hetooshi."
This meridian.
An extraordinary and extraordinary task.
The countless threads you see in the photo are all threaded by hand.
In one corner of the loom, there are looms lined up that look like they are covered in snow.
The shuttle loom is a very old machine, so it cannot be operated normally with the push of a button like the convenient machines of today.
Weaving machines often have malfunctions, and even if they cannot be used at full capacity, we keep them, replace usable parts, and operate them with very precise adjustments by craftsmen with many years of experience.This is a truly analog machine.
Therefore, there are several shuttle looms lined up that look like they are covered in snow, and the scenery is very mysterious but spectacular.
Writing this way may give the impression that he is simply making something unusual, but the fabrics that Mr. Kaneta makes are not just unique.
Maximize the potential of the materials you use and make them shine to their fullest.
It is a type of "cotton fabric" and "plain color" that can be found anywhere if you just look at the letters.
However, it is not a frivolous, monotonous, and easy texture, but a deep, deep depth that draws you in and fascinates you, and the more you look at it and the more you touch it, the more you feel it.
Wonderful fabrics created with ultra-mathematical and arithmetic theory, spirit, patience, and passion.
Kaneta Orimono is a company that can create things that are truly moving.
I really think so.
In the very limited field of ``weaving only'', we challenge the ``difficulty of weaving'' and create ``ultra-strong twist'' and ``ultra-high density'' that are absolutely impossible at other weaving shops. He has even tried "ultra-fine thread count" and continues to try even higher levels of difficulty.
I think it's just my personal preference, but I think Kaneta is by far the best in Japanese cotton fabrics.
The two biggest features are "super strong twist" and "super high density."
In the first place, "strong twisting" is something I have written about many times on this blog, but it is "spinning" that is done to transform cotton from "fiber" to "thread". .
When spinning, twists are added to the cotton fibers, and depending on how many twists per meter and how many times the thread is rotated, the types of thread are classified into three types. will be done.
・Weak twist (Jakunen), Sweet twist (Amayori)
・Normal twist
・Strong twist
Naturally, the fewer twists you add, the sweeter it will be.
As it becomes sweeter, it becomes softer and fluffier, with more fluff and thicker threads.
On the other hand, the more times you use it, the tighter and stronger the thread becomes, creating firmness, shine, and body, and the thinner and curlier the thread becomes.
When it comes to weak twisting, it is around 1 meter and less than 500 revolutions.
For ordinary twisting, 500 to 1000 rotations per meter.
Strong twisting is said to involve 1000 to 2500 rotations per meter.
And, as mentioned earlier, the stronger the twist, the more the yarn becomes "curly" rather than straight.
According to Kaneta, when it comes to highly twisted yarn, the hurdles to weaving go up significantly, making it exceptionally difficult.
Fabrics made with highly twisted yarn pose such hurdles, but they certainly have their benefits.
I think there are many benefits, and there are quite a few common ones, so I'll list a few.
- Shiny and luxurious feel
·chewy
・Smooth
·strong
・Can be used heavily
・Has firmness → Because it has firmness,
・The shape of the clothes is clearly visible
・Not easily wrinkled
・It is said that thin threads can be made → using a lot of threads → the fabric will have weight → it will drape → it will be able to create beautiful lines.
However, this is where Kaneta's real world of greatness begins.
Kaneta Orimono's technology goes even further.
If you read it carefully, you will theoretically understand why Kaneta Orimono is so unique.
For those who understand.
I learned a little bit about it when I was a student, but I learned a lot from it, so I'll revisit it again.
In the first place, thread has a "twist direction".
Isn't that what happens when you twist anything?
Turn it either way.
・S twist (right twist)
・Z twist (left twist)
These two things are said when twisting the thread.
There is a direction when spinning and when combining single yarns to make double yarns.
Basically, the direction of twisting when making fiber into thread is counterclockwise.
This is called "Z twist (left twist)" and the yarn (single yarn) is basically formed by Z twist.
Strong twisting refers to the method of making it strong during spinning, but it also refers to how strong the twist is when "twisting yarns = making double yarns", and furthermore, it is also the method of twisting single yarns into double yarns. When matching, the key question is whether to use S-twist (right-handed twist) or Z-twist (left-handed twist) to create double yarns.
There are three types of fabrics made from highly twisted yarn.
The first one.
It is a ``single yarn strongly twisted'' product that is strongly twisted during spinning, and then subjected to regular hard twisting.
The second.
"ZS strong twist" is a double yarn strong twist that combines two Z-twisted single yarns and applies a strong twist to the S twist (right-handed twist).
The third.
"ZZ strong twist" is a double yarn strong twist in which two Z-twisted single yarns are combined and the Z-twist (left-handed twist) is strongly twisted in the same direction as the single yarn.
The above three.
Each type of fabric has its own characteristics, but most of the fabrics woven by Kaneta Orimono are ``ZZ strong twist.''
And this "ZZ strong twist" has the strongest touch and is therefore said to be a yarn that is much more difficult to handle than the other two.
The reason why it is a difficult yarn is that in the case of ZZ, it is twisted to the left during spinning, and also twisted in the same direction when twisting together, which creates tightness between the single yarns, and also creates a tightness between the two yarns. I've heard that it's slippery.
On the other hand, in the case of "ZS strong twist", two Z single yarns are twisted together in the S twist (right-handed twist), which is the opposite direction to that during spinning, thereby canceling out the twisting force between the single yarns. Therefore, it does not require a strong touch and is easy to handle.
Therefore, whether the number of twists is 2,000 or 2,500, "ZS strong twist" has plenty of leeway.
In other words, it is not just the number of strong twists that is important.
However, Mr. Kaneta has apparently woven fabric with 3,000 revolutions in the past, even though it is a ``ZZ strong twist.''
This is dangerous.
However, even so, it seems that there are multiple companies other than Kaneta Orimono that use Kaneta's "ZZ strong twist" technique.
Mr. Kaneta's overwhelming point is that he can weave it with "ultra-high density" using "super-strong twist" yarn with "ZZ strong twist."
This level is unprecedented in humankind.
It seems that when the condition of "high density" is added, the hurdles for weaving go up, and it seems that other companies are unable to achieve this level of quality.
Well, there are many fabrics in the world that are simply woven with high density, but if you look around, you will notice that most people do not see or hear anything that is ``ultra-strong twisted yarn'' and ``ultra-high density.'' I guess I've never done it before.
Besides, no one other than Mr. Kaneta would be able to do that with "ZZ Strong Twist."
Kaneta Orimono creates fabrics that are unknown to many people.
However, everyone can imagine that it is not an easy task to achieve this, and it is a completely unique technology that took an unimaginable amount of time to create.
If you like clothes, especially fabrics, I think you should know about Kaneta's fabrics.
"The World of Super Craftsmen" In my last blog, I talked about clothes as something that "changes your life."
I wrote that, and this is exactly one of them.
As I often tell customers who visit our stores, I believe that clothes are not just ``something to wear.''
In particular, I believe that the people reading this blog are people who like this kind of thing and have a standard of value for this kind of thing.
It may seem like an exaggeration to say that clothes can change your life, but if something is truly made with passion, it will appeal to your heart, and there will definitely be something you can feel. is.
I think it will definitely have a positive impact on life, and I think it's great for people to know that they can do this with clothes, which everyone knows and has always been with us since birth. I think this is the role that a clothing retailer should play.
This time, we were able to have Kaneta Orimono spend a lot of time and effort on a very difficult task, and we were able to create a wonderful fabric that has never existed in this world before.
When this dough was completed, I was beyond impressed.
As I mentioned earlier, I think people will be able to feel that ``this is what you can do with clothes.''
What my sensibilities wanted and the sensibilities of the brand that served as a bridge between me and Mr. Kaneta collided perfectly.
AUBETT.
We have completed something that could only be produced by Kaneta Orimono, and something that could only be produced with AUBETT.
Continue.