Medium-sized

Nakagata originally meant a medium-sized pattern, but at some point it came to be used to refer to all cotton yukata that are stencil-dyed, regardless of the size of the design. The original Nakagata dyeing technique was to attach the fabric to a long board, stencil-dye it from one end, then stencil-dye the back of the fabric to match the pattern on the front, and finish by immersing it in an indigo vat, which is called Nagaita Nakagata. Nagaita Nakagata is so labor-intensive that in the middle of the Meiji period, Osaka came up with the idea of ​​using the tenugui dyeing method for yukata dyeing. The fabric is folded to the width of a tenugui and stencil-dyed, and the dye is poured over it to dye it. This method is more efficient than Nagaita Nakagata, and today it is used in almost all cases, except for special, intricate designs. In comparison with the Nagaita Chugata method, which involves pasting fabric onto a long board, it is also called Tenugui Chugata because it is a variation of tenugui dyeing, or Chusen because the dye is poured into it.

In addition to the above, there is a method of Nakagata dyeing called "Kago-tsuke" in which a pattern is carved into two cylinders, glue is poured into the cylinders, and the fabric is passed between the two cylinders to imprint both sides of the fabric in one go, then the fabric is finished by immersion dyeing. It is called Kago-tsuke because the cylinders into which the pattern is carved resemble baskets. Nakagata yukata are characterized by their clean dyeing in navy blue and white, but there are yukata with a white base where the pattern is dyed, and yukata with a base dyed in indigo where the pattern is dyed in white. The yukata with the dyed base are worn during the day, and the yukata with the white base where it is dyed, and are worn during the night.

[Nobuhiko Sugihara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中形というのは本来中くらいの柄(がら)ゆきという意味であったが、いつのころからか、図柄の大小にかかわらず、型染めになる木綿(もめん)地の浴衣(ゆかた)を総称するようになった。長い板に生地(きじ)を貼(は)り、端から順次型付けし、改めて生地の裏面にも表の型にあわせて型付けし、藍甕(あいがめ)に浸染して仕上げるのが本来の中形の染技で、長板中形とよんでいる。長板中形はこのように手数がかかるので、明治時代のなかばに大阪で手拭(てぬぐい)染めの手法を浴衣染めに行うようくふうされた。生地を手拭幅に折り畳みながら型付けし、染料を注ぎかけて染める。この手法は長板中形に比して作業が能率的で、今日では細緻(さいち)な特殊なものを除いてほとんどこの手法によっている。長板に生地を貼(は)ってする長板中形に比し、手拭染めの転化したことから手拭中形、あるいは染料を注ぎ染めることから注染(ちゅうせん)ともよんでいる。

　中形染めには以上のほかに、二つの円筒に模様を彫り、円筒の中に糊(のり)を入れ、二つの円筒の間に生地を通して一挙に生地の両面に型付けし、浸染して仕上げる籠(かご)付けの方法がある。模様を彫った円筒を籠になぞらえての呼称である。中形は紺と白にさっぱりと染め上げられたところにその味があるが、地が白く模様部が染められている地白のものと、地を藍(あい)に染め、模様を白抜きに染め出している地染めの浴衣があり、地染めのものは昼間に、地白のものは夜間着用するという。

［杉原信彦］

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