Origin and History of Shikkai

Abstract

Shikkai is a person who mediates between clients and artisans in order to produce printed Kimono by the best method. In the dyeing and sale system of Kimono, there are three kinds of Shikkai. There are Shikkai in mass production for manufacturers; Shikkai in custom-made system for stores and Shikkai for consumers. In this paper, in order to try to clarify origin and history of Shikkai, we investigated documents about Shikkai and interviewed several Shikkais and an artisan. As a result, we understood that Shikkai was a supervisor for artisans whose work was to dye Kimono, and how the three kinds of Shikkai came to be. In addition, we showed that Shikkai in custom-made system for consumers will be important in the future.