Kumihimo

Kumihimo is a Japanese braiding technique that interlaces at least three and often many more cords of silk or other threads to form a single plaited cord.

Translatable to English as ‘joining threads together’ kumihimo is characterized by its often vivid colours and intricate patterns. This is an art with roots in the cultural currents that flowed along the Silk Roads, and which then subsequently flourished in Japan over the course of hundreds of years.

Braided patterns, and the artistry of varying them, represent one aspect of the enduring appeal of kumihimo. Alongside this, as a technique for combining threads, braiding itself brings strength and elasticity, and these qualities have also been key to the development and continuing use of kumihimo. Today, the principal use of kumihimo is within kimono fashion, but it has in the past been integral to samurai armour and the carrying of swords, with its strength making these samurai articles practical and its beauty making them also objects of display.