String Theory of Kumihimo

Traditional, heritage master-level handmade kumihimo is rare and is an endangered art form requiring decades of practice and utilizes the traditional wooden stands called takadai (square loom pictured left) used to make flat cords or marudai (round loom pictured right) used to make round cords, working with dozens of weighted bobbins (tama) and fine silk threads.

• 

• 

Kumihimo is a Japanese art form that creates a wide range or round or flat woven cords with exceptional patterns. The earliest surviving examples of flat silk Kumihimo go all the way back to around 538-794CE and can be seen within the sacred collections of the Horyu-ji Temple and the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara, Japan.

Prior to this example, we have prehistoric proto-braiding evidence that goes all the way back to 4000-1000BCE. No braids from this period have survived. The primary physical evidence from this era exists as impressions on Jōmon earthenware pottery.

Deep Cylindrical Vessel (Fukabachi) Period: Middle Jōmon period Date: ca. 3500–2500 BCE Culture: Japan Medium: Earthenware with cord-marked decoration and sculptural rim. Displayed at The Met Museum.

What were the cords used for and who used them? The cords were used to create cords for making Samurai armor, cords to tie swords and to tie scrolls as well as decorative cords to go around Obi belts and for decoration in temples. The cord designs varied and were round or flat cords.

Armor (Dō-maru) Date: armor, ca. 1550; helmet, 18th century Culture: Japanese Medium: Iron, leather, lacquer, silk, gilt copper. The Met Museum.

An average obijime (a cord used to tie an obi) consists of more than 50,000 silk threads. Kumihimo in Edo Kagura.

Obi belts frequently utilize a kumihimo braiding technique called Kirikae. Kirikae is changing the structural shape of the cord for utility or aesthetics. For example: A heavy silk Obijime (the cord used to secure a kimono sash) that begins as a thick, round Kakugumi braid at both ends but abruptly transitions into a flat, wide Hiragumi braid in the center section.

Kikkogumi style was popularly used in Samurai armor in the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods (1192-1333CE and 1392-1573CE)

Heian Period (794-1192CE) featured new dying techniques and new artistic flourishes.

Ayadashi is a different kumihimo technique that allows for letters and intricate geometric patterns developed in the Edo period when Kumihimo was going through a sort of rebirth as the practice had died out during the wars in the Warring States period of Sengoku; c. 1467 – c. 1603CE.

Sword cording created by Shimbei Domyo, which was founded in 1652 by a former samurai retainer in Tokyo's Edo district. Shimbei Domyo originally specialized in producing kumihimo cords for warrior armor and weaponry as shown above. It remains one of the few Kumihimo masterpiece creators and has been going strong for ten generations.

Modernly, many people make Kumihimo cords and jewelry, but are often done with simpler patterns, made with embroidery floss instead of silk threads and utilize a kumihimo disc rather than the wooden marudai loom, though it serves the same purpose. It is a fascinating art form with far more history than I can fit into a small blog posting.

Here are some of the modern 8-strand Kumihimo braids produced by the College of St. Felix's Arts and Sciences class on September 24th, 2026. Today's class was taught by Lord Nicolo Cavali of St. Felix.

8-strand Kumihimo cords made by students in today's class.

I, myself, have only recently started learning this art form and have made a few 8-strand examples myself. Below is one that is pictured on the Kumihimo disc that I used to make it to showcase what modern cordmaking frequently looks like.

The pattern is determined by how you set up the cords on the disc. For this 8-strand cord, the movements to create the cord are repeated over and over and the pattern emerges as you work.

Whether you are wanting a custom color and pattern for trim on garb, custom cording for lacing or simply loving having something to do with your hands- I highly recommend trying out Kumihimo and see if this art form is for you. Perhaps one day, we will see examples of your work in museums.