Mud-Dye Shibori Robe

This lightweight robe is dyed using the mud of Amami Oshima, one of the southernmost islands in Japan. The process begins with repeated immersions in sharinbai, a local plant rich in tannin, followed by soaking in the island’s iron-rich mud. The result is a range of deep, earthy browns that cannot be replicated anywhere else—they are, quite literally, made of this specific place.

The shibori patterning adds a geometric structure: square resist-dyed motifs that read as both precise and organic. The robe is created by Hajime Shoji, guided by eighth-generation craftsman Tadaaki Hajime, whose family has maintained Amami Oshima’s mud-dyeing tradition across centuries.

It is super lightweight and drapes easily—a wearable piece of craft that carries the island’s landscape in its color and texture.