Traditional Silk Weaving Atelier in Kyoto
Step inside a traditional Kyoto atelier dedicated to Nishijin silk weaving and take part in a hands-on session, weaving a piece of your own to take home.
Overview
In a quiet corner of northern Kyoto, Studio Koho has carried the art of Nishiki weaving through four generations. Since ancient times, the word Nishiki has named whatever the Japanese held to be of exceptional beauty; in silk weaving it denotes brocade of the highest woven quality, revered among craftsmen and woven here thread by thread on looms that predate the modern age.
The studio lineage begins with its founder, Heizo Tatsumura, a weaver who devoted his life to reviving and reinventing the craft. He developed original weaving techniques and held nearly thirty patents, and his pursuit of beauty placed Nishiki among the most prized of Japan's luxury textiles, part of the celebrated Nishijin weaving tradition of Kyoto.
Your visit moves through six rooms, including the Woven Accessory Boutique, displaying Nishiki textile artworks, re-created ancient weavings, tall antique looms, and tapestries, while the resident weavers share the stories behind their work and let you watch experts at the loom.
Then the craft passes into your own hands. Seated at a traditional hand loom, you weave your own pattern into a single-color, plain-woven piece measuring 10cm x 10cm to take home.
Details
❖ Welcome to Studio Koho
Set in a traditional Kyoto machiya, Studio Koho opens its doors to a weaving house that has honoured the Nishiki tradition for four generations. Your hosts introduce the meaning of Nishiki, a word reserved since ancient times for things of exceptional beauty, and the lineage of founder Heizo Tatsumura, who developed original techniques and held nearly 30 patents.
❖ The Gallery of Six Rooms
Move through six rooms, among them the Woven Accessory Boutique, displaying Nishiki textile artworks, re-created ancient weavings, tall antique looms, and tapestries. Each piece reveals the depth of a craft refined across generations, from intricate framed works to large woven panels that turn thread into landscape and light.
❖ Watching the Masters
Pause where the weavers work. You hear stories from the masters and watch experts at work at the traditional looms, following the slow, exact rhythm by which a single line of Nishiki takes shape.
❖ Your Hands-on Weaving
Take your place at a traditional hand loom and weave your own pattern. Guided through each pass of the shuttle, you create a single-color, plain-woven piece measuring 10cm x 10cm to take home, a tangible memory of the craft.
OPTIONS
Notes
Please remove your shoes for most rooms during the tour
Food and drinks are prohibited inside
One single restroom is available
The building contains two flights of stairs
Chair seating is available
Minimum height requirement for participants: approximately 120cm
Meeting Point
What's included:
Entry fee
Studio tour
Weaving experience (10cm x 10cm)
Commemorative photo of you seated at a precious loom, a reconstruction of an ancient handloom over 1200 years old that only master craftsmen can handle
Postcard of the original brocade weaving work
Photos of tour participants
Local tax
What's not included:
Transportation
Food and drink
Souvenirs
Free cancellation up to 8 days before the experience starts (local time)
Private experience
1
-
2
Participants
Kyoto
From ¥6,000 /person
1:30 hours
Traveler Photos
From ¥6,000 /person
1:30 hours
Kyoto