Sumie NakayaA small store in northern Kyushu has revived the Japanese equivalent of jeans called Monpe, which were traditionally worn by farmers. Unagi-no-Nedoko (translated as “Eels’ Bed”) in Fukuoka Prefecture designs these Monpe with local weavers, using mainly Kurume Kasuri, a form of ikat (traditional textile dyeing technique) with over 200 years of history.
Unagi-no-Nedoko also curates and displays other local products. Additionally, it organizes tourism to experience regional art, craft, and food. Sustainability is embedded in these artisan practices, many with a long history dating from the Edo or earlier periods: products are made carefully with limited natural resources to last for generations.
Monpe, Japan’s jeans rediscovered
Unagi-no-Nedoko’s Monpe is breathable and soft since Kurume Kasuri fabrics are slowly woven on traditional shuttle looms without stressing the threads. They come in a range of colors and designs, achieved not through printing but by dyeing each thread individually and weaving them in distinct patterns.
Unagi-no-Nedoko considers Monpe a medium for people to experience fabrics of different kinds and origins. Its stores carry Monpe’s paper patterns for those with unused textiles at home. Other items for sale include its original jackets and shirts and fashion, food, and home items made by local designers.
These Monpe trousers are purchasable for $100-200, either online (no international shipping available) or through the stockiest stores in Japan. Their love for textile has led them to also experiment with traditional textiles from other parts of Japan and beyond, including the Netherlands and Finland.
Immersive cultural tour in the Chikugo region
Unagi-no-Nedoko also started cultural tourism in 2020 to offer visitors hands-on engagement with the native culture and landscape of the Chikugo region. It operates a traditional-style guesthouse in the historical town of Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture, having renovated a residence with a storefront of a renowned local merchant initially built at the end of the Edo period. Guests can sign up for various craft activities including Kurume Kasuri textiles, Buddhist altars, lanterns, Japanese washi paper, bamboo or woodwork, and pottery. Meals at the guesthouse also feature local produce.
Unagi-no-Nedoko emphasizes that traditional products are gifts from the land, shaped by its soil, water, and landscape. They convey the communities’ history, environment, and values, transcending the time. Unagi-no-Nedoko acts as a central market for reenergizing these heritage items in Kyushu to continue thriving today and in the future. It thus strives to stimulate interaction between land/nature and people and between people – those making crafts and those appreciating and buying them. This is key to the sustainability of local cultures. We can still find hidden secrets and gems, thanks to small businesses like Unagi-no-Nedoko and the local designers they host, which offer unique experiences that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
