A Tie-Dyeing Production Town with 400 Years of Tradition
Arimatsu is an old town, situated about 20 minutes away from Nagoya by train, famous for tie-dyeing. Arimatsu's history is said to be the history of Arimatsu Shibori. Shiborizome was the primary source of income for the people of the town and was a popular souvenir for travelers of the Tokaido road. Over time the Tokaido road fell out of use but the Shiborizome crafts, as well as the historical buildings, remain for you to experience Japanese tradition. The town wears its past on its sleeve. In the street corners, window gratings, handrails of staircases, and the fences around homes all show the history of the town. Let's take a relaxing walk through the town and take a peek at the remnants of its past.
Arimatsu is a rare town where time has stood still. The Arimatsu Village was founded in 1608 between Chiryu Post Station and Narumi Post Station on the famous Tokaido Trail. Filled with tea houses, this village was a post station that grew in popularity thanks to the Arimatsu-Narumi shibori (Arimatsu tie-dying) techniques that developed in the area. Many who traveled along the Tokaido Trail would purchase towels, yukata, and other goods dyed with the Arimatsu-Narumi techniques. While the original village was reconstructed after a fire in 1784, the village has been reconstructed and preserved to retain the traditional architecture from when it was first founded. The buildings use tile-roofing, nurigome-zukuri (a process used to build a fire-resistant wall), mushikomado (a type of window containing an insect cage-like lattice), and namako-kabe structures (method to fireproof walls) to retain it's traditional atmosphere.
Guests of Arimatsu Tokaido Old Town are highly encouraged to visit the Shibori Tie-Dyeing Museum and try their hand at making a shibori-dyed handkerchief as a souvenir. Create a unique memento of your Japan vacation with a unique creation all your own.
Arimatsu is a rare town where time has stood still. The Arimatsu Village was founded in 1608 between Chiryu Post Station and Narumi Post Station on the famous Tokaido Trail. Filled with tea houses, this village was a post station that grew in popularity thanks to the Arimatsu-Narumi shibori (Arimatsu tie-dying) techniques that developed in the area. Many who traveled along the Tokaido Trail would purchase towels, yukata, and other goods dyed with the Arimatsu-Narumi techniques. While the original village was reconstructed after a fire in 1784, the village has been reconstructed and preserved to retain the traditional architecture from when it was first founded. The buildings use tile-roofing, nurigome-zukuri (a process used to build a fire-resistant wall), mushikomado (a type of window containing an insect cage-like lattice), and namako-kabe structures (method to fireproof walls) to retain it's traditional atmosphere.
Guests of Arimatsu Tokaido Old Town are highly encouraged to visit the Shibori Tie-Dyeing Museum and try their hand at making a shibori-dyed handkerchief as a souvenir. Create a unique memento of your Japan vacation with a unique creation all your own.
