Hakezome (brush-dyeing)

In the hakezome method, the color is applied with a paintbrush to the finished book.

Sometimes the brush strokes were deliberately left visible to form patterns. The most common color is brown obtained from persimmon extract. It was typically used on basic book covers made by simply folding a sheet of paper in two. Because many books of this kind are courtiers’ journals, this type of cover is known as “journal-style cover” (kiroku hyōshi).

Though simple, the technique still allowed for creative expression. Watch the video to see some examples.

Books introduced in the video:

• Entairyaku, Middle Edo period
  Click to see the image and information
• Heike Monogatari, Shimomura-bon (Shimomura-text)
  Click to see the image and information