“Making It For Our Country”: An Ethnography of Mud-Dyeing on Amami Ōshima Island

Abstract

is a designer and anthropologist studying DPhil Anthropology at the University of Oxford. Her research is part of an ongoing exploration into textile techniques, aesthetics and histories, focusing on the social, environmental and economic relationships that are formed during the production process. Using long-term participant observation and apprenticeship, her current research based in Japan looks at the contemporary production of textiles associated with the Oshima tsumugi industry of Amami Oshima. Her work questions the preservation of tradition looking at how traditions evolve to find their place in contemporary society, and the role that traditional crafts play in sustaining rural social networks, economies, and ecologies, particularly in light of issues surrounding internal migration and sustainability. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, London, and the Royal College of Art, London, before studying anthropology Charlotte worked as a textile print and garment designer in the fashion and textiles industry in London, New York and Paris.

Island settings and their influence on geographical research methods

“…As a second step, I conducted participant observation, a classic ethnographic method (Linton, 2020). Focusing on an archipelago or a group of islands, my observations took the form of multi-sited ethnography-the study of a phenomenon that cannot be accounted for by focusing on a single site (Marcus, 1995) and that entails following "people, connections, associations and relationships across space" (Falzon, 2009, p. 2).…”

A Survey of traditional natural dye practice of Sri Lanka Today: A possible path pointing towards the development of the natural dye industry

“…Amami Oshima, island, southern Japan, a process of mud-dyeing used in the production of the Amamian kimono cloth Oshima tsumugi. Again, they use tannin and iron combinations to make brighter hues (Linton, 2020). It is seen that mud dyeing is carried out with tannin which produces by native plants.…”

From “Cycad Hell” to Sacred Landscapes: Tracing the Cultural Significance of Cycads in the Ryukyu Islands and Japan

“…These plants have been—and continue to be—used in many ways, including as poisons, pesticides, narcotics, medicines, managed wild foods, and as components of indigenous agroecological systems (see, e.g., Beck 1992; Bonta et al 2019; Bradley 2005; Carrasco et al 2022; Khuraijam and Singh 2012; Osborne et al 2007; Patiño 1989; Smith 1982; Thieret 1958, among numerous others). Beyond such practical functions, cycads also play significant roles within indigenous epistemologies and symbolic complexes, rituals, artistic traditions, and cultural practices (see, e.g., Alcorn 1984; Bonta 2022; Bonta and Bamigboye 2018; Carrasco 2020, 2022; Cousins, Williams, and Witkowski 2012; Krishnamurthy 2014; Osborne et al 1994; Pérez-Farrera and Vovides 2006; Radha and Singh 2008). The presence of cycads in many early regional archaeological records, their prominent place in aboriginal mythologies and symbolism, and their continued use in various contexts all point to their enduring conceptual saliency and cultural significance.…”