【Press Release】 “Tsumugi Suite Villa”, a new guest room where you can enjoy the nature and culture of Amami, is now available! ~Oshima Tsumugi x Art x Upcycling

(Head office: Amami Innovation Corporation, Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture / President: Yasuhiro Yamashita), which is engaged in community development through the operation of accommodation facilities in the Amami Islands, is pleased to announce the launch of the 20th new guest room “Tsumugi Suite Villa” at “The Beachfront MIJORA” in Denpaku. Tsumugi Suite Villa”, the 20th guest room in “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA”, is now on sale.

The Beachfront MIJORA is a retreat villa that offers a lodging experience to help guests forget the hustle and bustle of daily life and prepare their minds through the great nature of Amami, based on the concept of “communicating with the nature of the island. The “Tsumugi” in the newly created “Tsumugi Suite Villa” represents Oshima silk, a traditional craft that has been handed down for approximately 1,300 years on Amami Oshima. This time, together with Mr. Masaken Moto, an Oshima Tsumugi weaver who has been in business for 8 generations in Amami Oshima, and Mr. Shingo Minami, an Oshima Tsumugi weaver who has been in business for over 60 years, we have re-edited and tailored the charm of Oshima Tsumugi into the guest rooms, creating a unique and original space that is embraced by the Amami nature.
This activity is one of Den Tomari’s efforts to pass on traditional Amami crafts such as Oshima tsumugi to the next generation.
The beautiful sea seen through the wide windows over 10 meters wide and the cultural and creative art space woven with Oshima tsumugi silk will provide you with a relaxing moment.

 

What is “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA”?


Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA, a luxury villa retreat, was established in July 2019 and is the fourth accommodation facility developed by Denpaku. The concept of Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA is “to interact with the nature of the island”. The view reflected in the largest glass window available in Amami is like a picture of the ever-changing sea and sky spread out before your eyes. The building also features a roof made of burnt cedar, inspired by Amami’s traditional “Takakura” architecture. It offers a tranquil and zen-like lodging experience where one forgets the hustle and bustle of daily life and faces the nature in front of one’s eyes.

 

What is the new “Tsumugi Suite Villa” where you can enjoy a stay of a higher rank?


The new “Tsumugi Suite Villa” is the largest villa in Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA, with 86 square meters, and can accommodate up to 4 guests.The theme of the villa is “Oshima Tsumugi x Art x Upcycling,” and upcycled materials from Oshima Tsumugi, a traditional Amami-Oshima craft with a history of 1,300 years and called one of the world’s three major textiles, are scattered throughout the villa. It is a creative art space that is typical of Denpaku, which weaves tradition into the future.

The Tsumugi Suite Villa is located on the second floor across the street from the other buildings, and its over 10-meter-wide glass windows overlook the seven-colored sea. The organic roof, which is reminiscent of the Amami sea and bobbing like waves, has more presence when illuminated by the Ryukyu glass, creating a fantastic experience as if you are looking at the surface of the water from inside the sea. The room offers a culturally healing experience while swaying in the egg chair installed in the room with a book selected from the mini library of books related to Amami in one hand.

Feature 1: One-of-a-kind Japanese-style room dressed in upcycled Oshima tsumugi “Amami cloth

The wallpaper is made of custom-directed “Amami Cloth” woven with 9 pieces of white Oshima silk threads torn into 5 mm lengths for the warp, and white silver threads and mud-dyed gold threads for the weft.
The wallpaper is based on the color white, but changes with the light, making it a special space where you can enjoy the passage of time.

What is “Amami cloth” upcycled from Oshima tsumugi?

Oshima tsumugi”, a traditional craft of Amami-Oshima Island, has lost its chance to be worn as well as the kimono has become less popular all over Japan. Amamifu” was developed by Mr. Masakazu Moto with the hope that people will continue to love it even in this new era. It utilizes a technique called saki-weaving, in which old Oshima tsumugi cloth is ripped and a new cloth is woven from the weft. This innovative weaving technique uses traditional tools, which allows Amami craftsmen to work and helps to pass on traditional techniques.

Feature 2: Bathroom to relax while savoring “White Oshima Tsumugi” all at once.

This bathroom is the only one of its kind in the world, with the entire wall covered with tiles made of Oshima tsumugi fabric and specially coated glass. The six types of Oshima tsumugi silk used for the tiles are called “Shiro Oshima tsumugi” (white Oshima tsumugi silk), which is woven by combining colorfully rubbed kasuri yarn and plain white yarn.

They offer a relaxing bath time with a new fascination for Oshima tsumugi.

Feature 3: “Oshima tsumugi” scattered throughout the guest rooms, creating a unique space

The first thing you will encounter is the mud-dyed handle of the entrance door.
The walls of the deep hallway are lined with upcycled Oshima silk and artwork depicting the nature of Amami.

Other cultural and high quality elements are chicly scattered in the guest rooms, creating a one-of-a-kind space where you can feel the tradition and innovation of Amami.

●About Mr. Tadaaki Hajime (President, Hajime Shoji Co., Ltd.)

Mr. Tadaaki Hajime is an Oshima Tsumugi weaver who has been in the Araya community on Amami Oshima for eight generations.
In 2018, he took over as the representative of the company and has been working on various products using traditional techniques and tools such as “Amami Cloth” and “Crystal Oshima Tsumugi” in addition to the production of Oshima Tsumugi.
Amami Cloth” will be used for the seats of a special edition Ferrari in 2022, and the company’s upcycled manufacturing is gaining recognition both in Japan and abroad.

Hajime Shoji’s official website: https://hajimeshoji.com/hajime-story/

●About Mr. Shingo Minami (President, Yumeori no Sato Co., Ltd.)

Mr. Shingo Minami, a weaver, continues to create new Oshima tsumugi under the motto “Tradition is always a series of new challenges. While running the only facility in Amami where the entire process from designing to weaving is done in-house, he also supports the Oshima silk industry as the leader of the Honjo Amami Oshima Tsumugi NEXT Project and vice-chairman of the Honjo Amami Oshima Tsumugi Sales Association.

Official website of Yumeori no Sato: https://www.yumeorinosato.com/

Honba Amami Oshima Tsumugi NEXT Project: https://ohshimatsumuginextproject.com/

●About the “Oshima Tsumugi” Reconstruction Project

Led by Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of “Denbari,” this project is an effort to pass on the Oshima tsumugi industry to the next generation, together with Amami Oshima’s Oshima tsumugi craftsmen and experts in various fields. The aim of the project is to pass on the traditional Oshima tsumugi technique by solving the lack of successors by adding value to the traditional Oshima tsumugi and discovering new possibilities for new Oshima tsumugi.

●About Denpaku

It consists of four types of lodging facilities: “Denpaku Furuminka”, “Denpaku Amami Hotel”, “Denpaku Dormitory & Laundry”, and “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA”. The community is being developed to promote interaction between the village residents and tourists.
Amami Oshima Island has nurtured a rich natural environment and ecosystem, and was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021. Similarly, the approximately 360 different village cultures that have been handed down over hundreds of years from one “island” (village to another) to another in a variety of historical backgrounds are also valuable cultural resources that we can be proud of to the world. We consider them as “treasures of Amami” and started “Denpaku” in 2016 with the desire to protect them and hand them down to the future. Currently, we have 42 buildings and 52 rooms on the three islands of Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, and Kakaroma Island.

Official HP: http://den-paku.com/
Community development by Denpaku: https://www.machizukuri.yamashita-yasuhiro.net/