![Hirose Kasuri Indigo Table Runner: Shimane E-Gasuri Cotton Weave [2026]](https://jpmono.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hirose-kasuri-indigo-table-runner-where-to-buy-2026-featured.jpg)
Hirose Kasuri (広瀬絣, Hirose-gasuri) is the bold, picture-style cotton kasuri of Yasugi, a town in eastern Shimane Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. It is woven from cotton thread that has been resist-tied and dyed in indigo before weaving, so that the pattern — often cranes, tortoises, or whole landscapes — emerges only as the loom advances. A table runner in this cloth carries the deep aizome (藍染, “indigo-dyeing”) blues of San’in folk weaving onto a modern table.
What sets Hirose-gasuri apart from the more familiar geometric kasuri is its scale and subject. This is e-gasuri (絵絣, “picture kasuri”) — large, deliberate, pictorial designs rather than small repeating dots and crosses. It is counted among Japan’s representative kasuri traditions alongside Kurume, Iyo, and Bingo, and its origin traces to the 1820s, when a local woman is said to have carried the technique home after learning it in Yamato — present-day Nara, where part of this site’s own editorial team is based.
This guide is for readers who want indigo cotton table linen with a documented regional craft history, and who are comfortable buying a Japan-sourced item internationally. We cover what the cloth is, where it comes from, how to choose a form, where to buy it, and — honestly — what the available data does and does not tell us at the time of writing.
🔄 Updated: June 1, 2026
⏱️ Read time: ~11 min
![Hirose Kasuri Indigo Table Runner: Shimane E-Gasuri Cotton Weave [2026]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41WPjTcjhpL._SL500_.jpg)
- Who this is for — and who should skip it
- Product overview (from published specs)
- Where this comes from — Yasugi, Izumo, and the San’in kasuri tradition
- Which finish should you choose?
- Price snapshot across stores
- What it does well
- Weaknesses and things to verify before buying
- Conclusion — which buyer type are you?
- Other ways to approach this purchase
- 🏆 Editor’s Pick
- ❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Who this is for — and who should skip it
- Want indigo cotton table linen with a verifiable regional craft history
- Prefer bold, pictorial e-gasuri motifs over small repeating geometric kasuri
- Like the matte, deepening character of real aizome indigo on cotton
- Are comfortable buying a Japan-sourced item via the Amazon JP Global Store
- Enjoy building a table around San’in and Izumo folk-craft objects
- Need an exact, confirmed price before committing (live pricing was not in the dataset)
- Want a machine-washable, fully colorfast synthetic runner for daily heavy use
- Expect bright, multi-color printed designs rather than indigo-on-undyed cotton
- Need guaranteed fast domestic delivery rather than international shipping from Japan
- Dislike slight handwoven irregularity or gradual indigo softening over time
Product overview (from published specs)
The fetched dataset for this article returned no live Amazon US or eBay listings, and no price snapshot. The table below records what is established from the craft’s documented background and the reference listing identifier; fields that were not supplied are marked plainly rather than guessed.
| Attribute | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Craft | Hirose Kasuri (広瀬絣), picture-kasuri cotton weave | Craft background |
| Material | Cotton, indigo-dyed (aizome) | Craft background |
| Technique | Resist-tied (kasuri) threads dyed before weaving; large-scale e-gasuri | Craft background |
| Typical motifs | Cranes, tortoises, landscapes (auspicious pictorial designs) | Craft background |
| Form | Table runner / table center (also made as coasters and pouches) | Craft background |
| Origin | Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture (old Izumo, San’in region) | Craft background |
| Dimensions / weight | Unconfirmed — check the listing | Not in dataset |
| Reference item ID | ASIN B0D3BJG3ZY (Amazon JP Global Store reference) | Spec |
| Price | Unavailable at time of writing — verify on the listing | Not in dataset |
Data note: only the Amazon JP listing reference is available; the fetched dataset returned no live pricing or measurements, so figures may have shifted and should be confirmed on the listing before purchase.
📖 Glossary — Japanese terms used in this article
- Kasuri (絣) — a weaving method in which yarn is resist-tied and dyed before weaving, so the dyed and undyed sections form a pattern on the loom; the soft, slightly blurred edges are characteristic.
- E-gasuri (絵絣, “picture kasuri”) — kasuri designed as a large pictorial image (a crane, a tortoise, a landscape) rather than small repeating geometric units. Hirose-gasuri is known for this.
- Aizome (藍染) — natural indigo dyeing. The deep blue characteristic of Japanese folk cotton; it softens and develops character with age and washing.
- Izumo (出雲) — the historical region of eastern Shimane, with deep mythological and Shinto associations (Izumo Taisha).
- San’in (山陰) — the “shaded side of the mountains,” the Sea of Japan coast of western Honshu, covering Shimane and Tottori.
- Yamato (大和) — the old name for the Nara region, the cradle of early Japanese statehood.
Where this comes from — Yasugi, Izumo, and the San’in kasuri tradition
Yasugi lies in the far east of Shimane Prefecture, where the old province of Izumo meets neighboring Tottori. This is the San’in coast — the “shaded side” of the Chūgoku mountains, facing the Sea of Japan rather than the warmer, busier Pacific belt. It is a region of long agricultural and weaving traditions, of Izumo mythology, and of the kind of slow folk craft that grew up in farming households during the long winters.
The Izumo associations run deep here. Izumo Taisha, one of Japan’s oldest and most important Shinto shrines, stands not far to the west, and the region carries a strong sense of being one of the country’s mythological hearths. Against that backdrop, cotton weaving developed as an everyday domestic craft — cloth for work clothes, bedding, and household use, dyed in the indigo that defined Japanese folk textiles.
“Picture-kasuri is drawn before it is woven — cranes and tortoises planned thread by thread, tied off, dyed in indigo, then revealed only as the loom slowly advances.”
Hirose-gasuri’s origin is dated to the 1820s, the Bunsei era of the late Edo period. The tradition holds that a local woman, Nagaoka Teiko, learned kasuri weaving in Yamato — present-day Nara — and brought the technique home to Yasugi. That detail is a small but real thread back to this site’s own Nara editorial base: the same Kansai heartland that seeded so much early Japanese craft also seeded the weaving that would become Shimane’s signature cloth. From there it matured into something distinct: not the small repeating geometry of much kasuri, but bold, large-scale e-gasuri — cranes, tortoises, and landscapes, auspicious images rendered in resist-dyed indigo cotton.
- 1820s (Bunsei era) — Nagaoka Teiko is said to learn kasuri weaving in Yamato (Nara) and bring it home to Yasugi.
- 1830s–1850s — The style matures into bold, large-scale e-gasuri: cranes, tortoises, and landscape motifs.
- 1868 onward (Meiji) — Indigo cotton kasuri spreads as everyday cloth across Izumo and the San’in coast.
- 20th century — Hirose-gasuri is counted among Japan’s representative kasuri alongside Kurume, Iyo, and Bingo.
- Today (2026) — Woven by remaining Yasugi workshops as table runners, coasters, and pouches; availability is strongest on the Japan marketplace.
Among Japan’s named kasuri, Hirose-gasuri keeps notable company. Kurume-gasuri of Fukuoka, Iyo-gasuri of Ehime, and Bingo-gasuri of Hiroshima are the other large cotton-kasuri traditions; Hirose’s place in that group is earned specifically by its pictorial ambition. The deep aizome blues also connect it to the wider indigo world — to Tokushima’s Awa indigo, the same dye culture explored in our Buaisou tenugui guide, and to the San’in folk-craft sensibility that prizes quiet, useful, durable objects over decoration for its own sake.
Which finish should you choose?
This piece is listed in 10 finishes. The photos below are the actual 色 options on the listing right now — pick the one you want and confirm it on the product page before ordering, since hand-finished wares vary slightly piece to piece.
![Hirose Kasuri Indigo Table Runner: Shimane E-Gasuri Cotton Weave [2026] — グレー finish](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51wfU2eGkkL._SL500_.jpg)
![Hirose Kasuri Indigo Table Runner: Shimane E-Gasuri Cotton Weave [2026] — ネイビー finish](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416JKkJCONL._SL500_.jpg)
![Hirose Kasuri Indigo Table Runner: Shimane E-Gasuri Cotton Weave [2026] — ブラウン finish](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41-4HyV7HbL._SL500_.jpg)
Price snapshot across stores
Live pricing was not present in the fetched dataset, so the JPY/USD cells below read “unavailable” rather than carry a guessed figure. Verify the current price on the store before buying. Store order reflects our purchase-path priority for international readers.
| Store | Item / variant | Price (JPY + USD est.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Amazon US (search) | Browse Japanese indigo table linen | varies (USD) | Best if you are shopping from the US — Prime shipping, USD pricing, no international customs. Amazon US carries Japanese indigo and kasuri-style table linen from various makers; the specific Yasugi piece is sourced from Japan (next row). |
| 🇯🇵 Amazon JP Global Store | Hirose Kasuri indigo table runner (ASIN B0D3BJG3ZY) | Unavailable at time of writing — check listing | The sourced listing for the exact item. Ships internationally from Japan to most major destinations. |
| Maker direct | Yasugi Hirose-gasuri workshops | Unconfirmed — check maker site | Some Yasugi workshops sell directly; international shipping varies by workshop and is not guaranteed. |
| Proxy services (Buyee / Tenso) | Any JP-domestic listing forwarded abroad | Item price + forwarding fee | Useful if a specific motif is only sold on JP-domestic shops that do not ship overseas. Adds a forwarding fee and a customs step. |
Prices in USD are approximate and depend on the current exchange rate (¥150/USD baseline as of mid-2026). The JPY price on the listing is the authoritative one. Prices and stock fluctuate — confirm at the retailer before purchasing.
What it does well
Weaknesses and things to verify before buying
- Price unconfirmed. The fetched dataset returned no live price for ASIN B0D3BJG3ZY. Treat any USD estimate as indicative only and confirm the JPY price on the listing.
- Dimensions unconfirmed. Length and width were not supplied. Measure your table and check the listing’s stated size before ordering, since “runner” covers a wide size range.
- Motif may vary. Because no product photo was in the dataset, the exact pictorial motif (crane, tortoise, landscape, or geometric) should be verified on the listing image, not assumed.
- Indigo care. Natural aizome can bleed slightly when new and softens with washing; it is not the set-and-forget colorfastness of a synthetic print. Wash gently and separately at first.
- Handwoven irregularity. Slight unevenness in the kasuri edges and weave is inherent to the technique. Buyers expecting machine-perfect symmetry may read this as a flaw rather than a feature.
- International shipping and customs. Buying via Amazon JP Global Store means shipping from Japan, with delivery times and possible customs duties above local thresholds. Budget for both.
Conclusion — which buyer type are you?
Other ways to approach this purchase
🏆 Editor’s Pick
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hirose Kasuri?
Hirose Kasuri (Hirose-gasuri) is the picture-style cotton kasuri of Yasugi in eastern Shimane Prefecture, in the old Izumo region. The cotton yarn is resist-tied and indigo-dyed before weaving, and the tradition is known for bold, large-scale pictorial motifs — cranes, tortoises, and landscapes. Its origin dates to the 1820s.
How is e-gasuri different from ordinary kasuri?
E-gasuri (“picture kasuri”) designs the resist-dyed pattern as a large pictorial image across the whole cloth, rather than as small repeating geometric units like dots and crosses. Hirose-gasuri is specifically known for this pictorial approach, which is more demanding to tie and dye.
Does Amazon JP Global Store ship this internationally?
Amazon JP Global Store ships many household and textile items to most major international destinations. Delivery times are longer than domestic orders and customs duties may apply above your local threshold. Confirm shipping eligibility and cost at checkout for your country.
How do I care for an indigo cotton table runner?
Natural indigo (aizome) can bleed slightly when new, so wash gently and separately at first, avoid prolonged soaking and harsh bleach, and dry away from direct sunlight. The blue softens gradually with use, which is part of the character of indigo cotton rather than a defect.
Is the price shown accurate?
At the time of writing, the fetched dataset returned no live price for this item, so this guide does not state a specific figure. Any USD estimate elsewhere on the site is indicative only. Always confirm the current JPY price on the Amazon JP Global Store listing before purchasing.
What is the connection between Hirose Kasuri and Nara?
By tradition, the technique was learned in Yamato — present-day Nara — by a local woman, Nagaoka Teiko, in the 1820s, and carried home to Yasugi in Shimane. This is a folk-traditional account of the craft’s origin, and it links the cloth to the Kansai heartland where much early Japanese craft developed.
jpmono.com is curated by a Japan-based editorial team (working out of Toyama in the Hokuriku region and Nara in Kansai) and is independent. We do not take payment from the makers we feature; income comes from affiliate links. We do not physically test every product — we read maker specs and source listings.
🤖 This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the available source data. Craft background reflects documented tradition; product specifics should be confirmed on the live listing.
Affiliate disclosure: jpmono.com may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
