When the mountains change their mood, the air in our studio shifts ever so slightly.
Touching silk floss in the clear air of early morning, the heart loosens with a gentle sigh…
Silk floss is the very rhythm of our daily life.
Mountains & Silk Floss
As the seasons turn, our hands change their movement little by little—
slowly in winter, lightly in spring. Each time we open the floss and draw out a strand with our fingertips, our breath seems to align with the breath of the mountains.
Memory in the Hands
What we learned was not “doing it perfectly,” but “trusting what we feel.”
Rather than forcing uniformity, leaving a gentle waviness lets the textile carry a story.
Thick parts, thin parts—just as we feel that day, that moment.
When we side with nature’s rhythm instead of our own convenience, the thread takes on a surprisingly soft expression.
“Keeping a little silk floss on my desk calms me, even on busy days.”
Colors of the Seasons, Colors of Daily Life
Colors we receive from nearby plants never dye exactly the same way twice—
and that is just right for us.
The color of rainy days, the color of sunny days, the color of pruned branches—
natural colors feel closer to the scenery of everyday life.
For the Children
We sometimes share time with children in schools and forest kindergartens, letting them touch silk floss.
At the instant it becomes thread, their faces light up.
There is no single “right answer” to the result—just touch, try, and laugh.
Moments like these are what will carry handwork into the future.
Tensan & Friends
Cocoons from friends who raise tensan in Iwate, cocoons raised here at our studio in Yamanashi—
where human life and nature’s cycles overlap, thread is born.
Pupae return to the soil; plants used for dyeing also return to the soil.
Within this cycle of receiving life and returning it to nature, our textiles grow.
Time to “Do Nothing”
In workshops we sometimes make time to “intentionally do nothing.”
Just sit, touch the silk floss in your hands, and listen to the sounds outside—
because some days, that is enough.
No need to hurry. No need to decide.
Silk floss suits a quiet moment.
Made from living beings, silk floss is soft, warm, and—perhaps—holds a gentle power to heal our hearts.
The Charm of Silk Floss
Above all, it has a luster found in no other fiber.
Silk absorbs external light and reflects it beautifully. Some light reflects immediately, while some travels back and forth within the (fibroin) fiber structure before reflecting. This creates a gentle, multi-angled sheen.
At Yamamayu Studio, we will continue to share the gift of silk floss—once distant from daily life—through textiles, objects, and workshops, passing on its charm to the next generation with gratitude for the lives of the silkworms.
For Those Who Want to Learn More
This page tells the story of silk floss and daily life at yamamayu.
For detailed knowledge of materials and processes, please see the pages below.
山まゆの里染織工房 