Urasoe Ori

Urasoe-ori is a registered regional brand that features the use of handspun silk thread made from cocoons of silkworms cultivated in Urasoe City. All production processes from thread spinning, dyeing and weaving are carried out collectively. The delicately handspun silk is light and airy, making finished fabric warm on the skin in winter and cool in hot summer months. Silk thread is predominantly made into a variety of garments and textile goods using techniques in plain weaving.

Conceptualized as a new regional speciality for the municipality of Urasoe, Urasoe-ori began in October 2006 as a city project to train and nurture budding artisans in the art of textile weaving. While focusing on the allure of traditional “te-shigoto” (handcrafting), Urasoe-ori has been widely used in kariyushi wear, a popular form of casual business attire in Okinawa. The regional brand has also made forays into designing and producing daily fashion wear items that feature the use of traditional weaved textiles.

Urasoe-ori was born in October 2006 of the desire to preserve the legacy of “te-shigoto” in the city, which took shape in the form of a municipality-backed project to train new craftspeople in the art of textile weaving. In Urasoe-ori, the entire process of textile production from sericulture, cocooning, hand-dyeing to weaving is completed within Urasoe City. A year after Urasoe-ori was conceived, retail of Urasoe-ori began at the newly established Urasoe City Community Production Center in 2007. The Association for Urasoe-ori was set up in the following year in 2008. In 2011 and 2012, shawls and “tida shirts” incorporating Urasoe-ori were respectively selected as excellent prefectural products recommended by the prefecture of Okinawa. The Cooperative Association for Urasoe-ori was set up in 2009 and currently oversees production of items such as neckties, shawls and kariyushi wear.