Based in Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture, we make hand-woven chair rugs with cotton yarns to suit modern lifestyles.

More than a hundred years ago, Ako Dantsu, hand-woven rugs made of cotton yarn and adapted to the Japanese climate, were born in Ako, based on rugs from the continent brought over the Silk Road.

Ako Gabbeh, a hand-woven rug made of wool, is woven by nomads for practical use in their daily lives. Its vast grasslands and mountainous landscapes are connected through the Silk Road to the openness of the Seto Inland Sea coast.

... With this in mind, a group of volunteer weavers of Ako Dantsu came together to develop a rug named "Ako Gabbeh".

Ako Gabbeh is woven by tying colored threads to the warp threads and holding them together with the weft threads (Persian knotting). The warp threads are then tied to the weft threads and held in place by the Persian knot, and the threads are finished to an even length using Japanese shears, the same shears used for Ako Dantsu.

The colored yarns used are procured as raw yarns from dozens of 10 count cotton yarns combined together. Sometimes the raw threads are dyed at a dyehouse as original colored threads, sometimes they are made into skeins and dyed with indigo at a navy blue dyehouse, and sometimes the weavers themselves prepare threads dyed with plants and trees.

Weavers also prepare their own herb-dyed yarns.

・The use of natural dyes (indigo) may cause color fading.

・As it is sensitive to ultraviolet light and humidity, please use it in a dry place away from direct sunlight.

・For regular maintenance, occasionally brush or lightly vacuum in the direction of the weave to remove loose fibers.

・If it becomes dirty, quickly wipe with a wet towel, then thoroughly dry the area with a dry towel.

・If a stain persists, standard cleaning is not recommended. Please contact our workshop for assistance.

・Hand washing is possible, but like other cotton products, shrinkage can be expected.

From the late Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period, Naka Kojima, a woman who was fascinated by Chinese rugs, spent 26 years researching and developing her own techniques for making rugs.

At that time, there were many women working in the salt fields in Ako, and with their abundant labor, the industry flourished as a reproduction and development industry, and developed to a scale that is known as one of the three major rugs in Japan. In the late Meiji period (1868-1912), Ako Dantsu made from silkworms was adopted as a rug for the Imperial Court trains, and it is said that Ako Dantsu was also valued as a rug for the Imperial Vessel of the Crown Prince and the throne of the Privy Council.

Looking at the existing old Ako Dantsu rugs, there are some patterns that are typical of Ako Dantsu, but many of them have been arranged in a flexible manner. In its heyday, when Ako Dantsu was favored by tea masters, famous restaurants, and teahouses, and its sales channels were expanding far abroad, we imagine that the depth of knowledge of the clients who came to the weavers had a great influence on the quality of Ako Dantsu.

Due to the cotton control in 1938 and the modernization after the war, Ako Dantsu went into decline. In the Heisei era, when there was only one weaver, the city of Ako held a workshop on Ako Dantsu weaving techniques, which was a sign of revival.