Ise katagami

Ise katagami (伊勢型紙) is the Japanese craft of making paper stencils for dyeing textiles (katagami (型紙)). It is designated one of the Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan. The art is traditionally centered on the city of Suzuka in Mie Prefecture. It is different from ise washi, though both are made in Mie Prefecture.

Multiple layers of thin paper are bonded with a glue extracted from persimmon, which makes a strong flexible brown coloured paper. The designs can be extremely intricate, and consequently fragile. Nowadays the stencils are sometimes sold as artwork, attached to hand fans, or used to decorate screens and doors in Japanese rooms. For kimono printing the stencils are stabilized by attaching them to a fine silk net. In past times, human hair was used instead of silk, but silk is less likely to warp and can be finer.

The stencils are then used for resist dyeing. Rice paste is passed through the stencil onto silk. When dyed, the color does not adhere to the areas with rice paste. By multiple alignments of the stencil, large areas can be patterned. This technique was developed in France as silk screen printing. The stencil is not generally used for more than one kimono, though multiple stencils can be cut at the same time.

The use of stencils was known by the Nara period, as is evident from objects in the . Later paper stencils developed alongside kimono. The technique is known as since towns in Ise Province, now Mie Prefecture, were historic centres of the craft.