Shiroma Bingata Studio
A bingata dyeing studio in Shuri with around 300 years of royal heritage, linked to Shuri Castle of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Shiroma Bingata Studio is a traditional dyeing atelier that preserves and passes on "Ryukyu bingata," the resist-dyeing technique unique to Okinawa. Born into a family that once served as official dyers for the royal court at Shuri Castle — producing garments for the Ryukyuan kings and nobility — the studio carries about 300 years of bingata lineage. Under the 16th-generation head Eiichi Shiroma, the studio continues to work with time-honored materials and methods, dyeing colors and patterns that reflect Ryukyu's nature and prayer in a corner of Shuri each day.
Why We Love It
One of the "three great bingata families" continuing from the Ryukyu Dynasty for 300 years. The cloth dyed while feeling the light and wind of Shuri carries deep prayer and history within its vivid colors. Works by 16th-generation Eiichi Shiroma carry the weight of tradition while having refined beauty that fits modern spaces. If you want to touch the "origin" of Okinawa's dyeing and weaving culture, start by knowing this studio.
PROFILE About the Company / Workshop
Shiroma Bingata Studio's history dates back to the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom, when the family dyed royal garments as court dyers at Shuri Castle. Light and wind brought from the southern sea, subtropical flowers and fish, the flow of clouds and the hint of rain — reflecting Ryukyu's nature in patterns and colors, bingata developed as royal garments and ritual costumes.
16th-generation Eiichi Shiroma inherits the stencils and techniques passed down from his predecessors, while upholding the philosophy of "protecting Ryukyu's spirit through craftsmanship" — facing production daily together with fellow artisans. Using old materials and techniques as much as possible, the studio aims for cloth making where even the flow of time soaks in.
The studio usually doesn't hold tours to concentrate on production — but through its website and several events per year, the studio shares the background of production and daily reflections. The modest daily life carried out in a corner of Shuri eventually becomes a piece of cloth, radiating color in people's lives — that process forms the core of Shiroma Bingata Studio's expression.
The role of bingata has changed with the times. During postwar reconstruction, as "work to rebuild life," and through challenges with kimono, the studio has opened new realms of expression. Today, beyond costumes and obi, the studio proposes bingata colors and patterns in various forms — framed works, spatial decoration, and more — connecting "Ryukyu's heart" to the next generation.
A bingata family continuing as court dyers of Shuri Castle in the Ryukyu Kingdom
Shiroma Bingata Studio is a bingata family lineage that dyed royal garments as court dyers of Shuri Castle in the Ryukyu Kingdom — a studio with about 300 years of history. Current head Eiichi Shiroma is the 16th generation. The studio continues expressing — as dyeing connected to modern life — the uninterrupted memory of stencils, techniques, and colors handed down.
Quiet daily craftsmanship in a corner of Shuri
The studio is a small atelier quietly nestled in a corner of Shuri. To concentrate on production, regular daily visits are not accepted — instead, the studio shares the background of bingata and production scenes through its website and events. The modest daily life of layering colors onto cloth while feeling Shuri's light and wind and changing seasons is the source of the studio.
The mainstream of Ryukyu bingata preserving old materials and techniques
At Shiroma Bingata Studio, using old materials and techniques as much as possible is treasured. Stencils made from washi paper and persimmon tannin, rice-paste resist, and coloring using both pigments and dyes — while protecting processes continuing from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, each piece is hand-dyed.
Sharing the world of bingata through several cultural events a year
The studio also holds cultural events about four times a year — exhibitions, talks, collaborations with rakugo, and more. Based on sensibility cultivated through daily work, the studio also works on creating places to share the history of bingata, the meaning of motifs, and the prayer contained in colors with visitors.