Katayama Bunzaburo Shoten, a company specializing in Kyo-kanoko shibori, was founded in 1915 in Takatsuji-Muromachi, Kyoto, as a wholesaler and manufacturer of kimono fabrics dyed with shibori techniques. For more than 110 years since its founding, the company’s history has always been one of innovation. The first-generation Bunzaburo’s simple yet chic kimono style was imbued with an aesthetic sensibility that was ahead of its time.

Enkin Bai-sō Shibori, devised by Bunzaburo Katayama, features a gradation in the size of the shibori grains created by hand-wrapping with hemp threads.

The bold cherry blossom crest in linear drawing originates from the mark of Okamoto Sensuke Shoten, a yuzen fabric merchant who supported Bunzaburo from his days as an apprentice until he became independent. This inherited crest was also a send-off gift as he set out into the turbulent seas of business as a young man. Bunzaburo discreetly placed the character “文 (Bun)” at the center so as not to disturb the symmetry, embodying both a reminder of his apprenticeship years and the sense of propriety and aesthetics characteristic of Meiji-era people.

Succeeding in 1972, the second-generation Fumio Katayama focused on fusing tradition with innovation. Responding to lifestyle changes, he began to promote the appeal of shibori dyeing beyond kimono, expanding into fields such as interior design and fashion. He revived the Honza Kyo-kanoko patterns once made in the Edo period, creating beauty with organic, wavering forms. He also designed “Aimu,” glassware incorporating indigo-dyed fabric, which was awarded the Made in Kyoto Best Design Prize by Kyoto Prefecture.

In 1992, the third-generation Kazuo Katayama inherited the business, actively branching into interior and apparel fields. His Bai-shibori scarves and necklaces were featured in the catalog of The Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA), and sold at the museum shop. Marking its centennial in 2015, the company further expanded its creations by merging tradition with contemporary fashion and art. It pioneered new expressions such as presenting shibori without stretching it, allowing for three-dimensional forms, and using the reverse side of fabric as the front—pursuing new beauty through a unique sensibility.

In 2015, the brand BUNZABURO was officially launched, proposing “Wearable Art” that transforms the wearer into a work of art by capturing the sculptural forms revealed in the moment threads are untied. Its bold and uplifting designs, making full use of the distinctive three-dimensional textures of shibori born from the traditional craft of Kyo-kanoko shibori, were embraced as contemporary fashion.

Today, BUNZABURO continues to pursue “Shibori in New Form,” bringing traditional craftsmanship together with modern ideas to enrich everyday life.

In 2024, the new brand KATAYAMA was launched. Using original textiles born from BUNZABURO’s proven techniques and delicate handwork, KATAYAMA proposes graceful and innovative garments. Characterized by organic lines, forms, and colors, the brand continues to create a new expression of shibori that intertwines contemporary sensibility with traditional craft.

Behind the effort to adapt the ancient Japanese technique of shibori dyeing to modern life—not only in kimono, but also in apparel, interiors, and diverse applications—lies a belief in the beauty created by skilled handwork that mass production cannot replicate, and a mission to pass on this precious craft to the next generation. For this reason, communicating shibori as part of Japanese culture on a global stage is also an essential role.

Loved internationally as fashion items, BUNZABURO continues to actively expand overseas while carrying forward the artistry of shibori.