Kimono Fabric Cutting Workshop

Four women in patterned kimono kneel at low wooden tables inside a fabric shop, scissors and pattern paper spread before them as they cut crane-printed cloth into panels. Behind them, floor-to-ceiling shelves hold bolts of silk in jade, indigo, and vermilion, many stamped with cranes, pine branches, and chrysanthemums. A finished kimono hangs on a stand near the window, its sleeves brushed with gold thread. Blue noren curtains printed with kanji mark the doorway, and a wall rack holds spools of colored thread beside hanging scissors and measuring tapes. Tatami mats cover the floor, and folded bolts sit stacked at each worker's knee. Every table holds its own half-cut pattern, the fabric already following the pale chalk lines meant to guide the next straight cut.