Edo sarasa is a tasteful and exotic dyed cotton cloth. The patterns on sarasa are of southern flowers, birds and people depicted in rich colors, and came to Japan from countries such as India, Java and Persia.
   Sarasa was introduced to Japan through the southern Nanban trade at the end of the Muromachi period, and had begun to spread by the mid-Edo period.
   Edo sarasa has a Japanese sensibility in its colors and designs and uses patterns created through stencil printing. These Japanese patterns are stylized and exotic. Usually, around 30 stencils are used but up to 300 stencils are sometimes used! When many stencil designs are layered together, the sarasa appear profound and almost three-dimensional.
  Edo sarasa is a beautiful craft preserved by craftsmen today who have inherited these traditional techniques from the Edo period.

Hiroshi Kibe is a craftsman of Edo karakami, and was born in 1931 in Asakusabashi, Tokyo.

'Karakami' means Chinese paper; 'kara' is the old Japanese name for China and 'kami' means paper. In the mid-Heian period, people started to make paper using Chinese methods. By the Edo period, Edo karakami was a well-established paper craft which used used many decorative techniques, such as stencilling, stripe-printing and dusting with powder dyes.

In 1950, Hiroshi succeeded to his father's business, and became involved in karakami printing. His karakami of colorful birds or people in 'sarasa' patterns are especially beautiful and are used for sliding doors.

Hiroshi says, 'No one will be either a master or a failure at this work. The important things are to work carefully and to think of who will be using the final product. Sliding doors involve completing a set of several doors, so I make efforts to ensure that each door is finished in the same way and is tasteful.'

Hiroshi was designated as a Tokyo Traditional Craftsman. In 1997, he was also designated as a Traditional Craftsman of Katsushika-ku.