Traditional Japanese art: Aizome Indigo Dyeing

Week 3 of our summer program brought an exciting and immersive cultural experience for our students: creating their own Aizome dyeing. The Aizome is Japanese traditional indigo dyeing. The Aizome shop we visited has over 100 years history, which added the historical significance to the workshop. The workshop was conducted primarily in Japanese, which challenged students to utilize their Japanese listening skills which they learned in class. They responded to the instructor cheerfully and asked the instructors follow-up questions. After grasping the directions, it was the time to create their own Aizome! “The beauty of Aizome is its unexpectedly - no one knows exactly how the final design will turn out,“ the instructor said. Students dyed their fabrics using the variety of patterns.

After that, they moved to the garden to start the dyeing process, soaking their fabric in the dye. Depending on how long they soak the fabric, it decides the intensity of the blue shade. They counted the time and pulled out their fabrics when they felt it was perfect. It was clear they had the sense of wonder and were excited to see their art for the first time. The joy and pride on their faces were evident by how hard they worked on it carefully.

As summer progresses, we look forward to more enriching experiences that bridge cultures and create lasting memories.