🗺️ Ashikaga Textile Heritage Museum足利織物伝承館

The Ashikaga Textile Heritage Museum is a small museum where visitors can understand and experience the historical trajectory of Ashikaga City through textiles and traditional crafts. Nearby attractions include the Ashikaga Orihime Shrine, which is recommended to be included in your travel itinerary for Ashikaga. Ashikaga has long been a renowned textile production base. The prosperity of that time is documented in "Tsurezuregusa," one of Japan's three great essays, written by the famous scholar, waka poet, and essayist Yoshida Kenkō (1238–1352) during the Nanboku-chō period. From the Taisho period (1912–1926) to the early Showa period (1926–1989), the textile industry in Ashikaga, primarily producing Meisen, also flourished and was recognized as one of the five major production areas of Meisen. To this day, Ashikaga Meisen continues to radiate a fresh and fashionable charm with its splendid patterns and excellent quality. The Ashikaga Textile Heritage Museum is located on the second floor of the Kiryu Textile Hall. The museum displays various historical materials related to textiles from the Meiji period (1868-1912) through the Taisho, Showa, and modern eras, including Ashikaga Meisen. Additionally, it sells locally produced textiles and various small items made from Meisen. The experiential activities at the Ashikaga Textile Heritage Museum are also highly recommended. By engaging with textiles and crafts, visitors can create unique and unforgettable memories of their trip. The experiences include hand-dyeing scarves, snowflake board dyeing, and template dyeing, among others. There are also experiences for making corsages from vintage Meisen fabric. Due to their popularity, it is advisable to make reservations in advance.

You can experience making a brooch using traditional fabric from Ashikaga Meisen. There are template dyeing experience classes available. You can also experience snowflake board dyeing. You can try your hand at wax dyeing. Additionally, there is a hand-dyeing experience for scarves.