Shuri ori (首里織) is the umbrella name for the textiles of Shuri, the old royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom, now part of Naha. It covers several very different techniques: hand-tied kasuri (ikat), raised “flower” weaves, double-sided dōton-ori, gauzy hanakura-ori and the narrow Shuri minsā belt. The finest of them were reserved for the royal family and aristocracy. Mostly woven in silk with plant dyes, Shuri ori is still made in and around Naha, and you can try weaving it at Shuri Senshokukan suikara near Shuri Castle.
This page is part of our guide to Ryukyuan textiles, which compares all of Okinawa’s woven and dyed crafts.
Shuri Ori at a Glance
| Japanese | 首里織 (Shuri ori). The name was coined in 1983, when the textiles were put forward for national designation. |
| Covers | 首里絣 Shuri kasuri, 首里花織 Shuri hanaori, 首里道屯織 Shuri dōton-ori, 首里花倉織 Shuri hanakura-ori and 首里ミンサー Shuri minsā |
| Fibres | Mainly silk, plus cotton, ramie and bashō (banana fibre) |
| Dyes | Ryukyu indigo, fukugi (Garcinia), techi (sharinbai), itajii, sōshiju and other plant dyes, plus chemical dyes |
| Made in | Mainly Naha and surrounding areas |
| Designations | National Traditional Craft, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (27 April 1983); Important Intangible Cultural Property Shuri no Orimono, holder Shukumine Kyōko (2023) |
| Cooperative | Naha Traditional Textile Business Cooperative (那覇伝統織物事業協同組合), founded 1976 |
History: The Weaving of a Royal Capital
Shuri was the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom from the unification of the islands under Shō Hashi in 1429 until the Meiji era. In the 14th and 15th centuries the kingdom traded heavily with China and Southeast Asia, and Shuri absorbed weaving techniques from across the region. The cooperative explains that court cloth of the highest refinement, in both colour and pattern, was woven for the royal family, nobles and samurai class.
Court painters drew designs that were collected in the mi-ezu-chō (御絵図帳), the royal pattern books. Women on the islands wove cloth to these designs as tribute, and the prefecture describes the kasuri in these books as the foundation of Okinawan traditional weaving. Because the best cloth came to Shuri, the women of samurai families there learned advanced techniques, which is why so many have survived in Shuri.
The Battle of Okinawa devastated the city. Weaving was slowly rebuilt after the war: the prefecture designated Honba Shuri no Orimono an Intangible Cultural Property in 1974, the cooperative was founded in 1976, and the national designation followed in 1983.
The Techniques of Shuri Ori
Shuri hanaori (首里花織)
Hanaori means “flower weave”: small geometric motifs are raised on the cloth with floating threads. The cooperative counts four kinds: ryōmen-uki (double-sided float), yoko-uki (weft float), te-hanaori (hand-picked) and tate-uki (warp float). Hanaori was worn by the samurai class and above. The Naha City Traditional Arts and Crafts Center notes that in double-sided hanaori one face shows warp floats and the other weft floats, so either side can be used.
Shuri dōton-ori (首里道屯織)
Dōton-ori, also called rōton-ori, is a plain weave in which the threads are packed more densely in places to form raised patterns. Both faces show warp floats, so the cloth can be used either way. It is said to have come from China and was used for men’s official robes. Today the technique is used mostly for obi sashes.
Shuri hanakura-ori (首里花倉織)
The most prestigious of all Okinawan textiles, worn as summer dress by queens and princesses. Hanaori and gauze weaves are combined in checkerboard or diamond patterns. See our separate guide to Shuri hanakura-ori.
Shuri kasuri: tejima, ayanu-nākā and murudutchiri
Shuri kasuri is tied using a hand technique unique to Shuri called habagwā-yui (巾小結), said to be an original form of kasuri. The cooperative describes several kinds:
- Tejima (手縞, tijima): kasuri set inside a check of warp and weft stripes.
- Ayanu-nākā (綾の中): “inside the stripes”, with kasuri motifs lined up between warp stripes.
- Murudutchiri (諸取切): the classic Shuri kasuri, combining warp and weft kasuri arranged outward from a central point called the mashin.
Naha has a second, humbler kasuri tradition too. The Naha crafts centre notes the indigo and white kasuri of Tomari, worn by merchants and ordinary people, alongside the multicoloured silks of the Shuri samurai class.
Shuri minsā (首里ミンサー)
A narrow belt that combines a thick-weft ribbed weave with double-sided float weave. The name is often explained as min, the Chinese word for cotton, and sā, meaning narrow. The Naha crafts centre calls it the most technically demanding of all the minsā belts. Compare Yaeyama minsā and Yomitanzan minsā.
Lost and rare cloths
The cooperative also mentions Shuri jōfu, a summer cloth of silk, ramie and other fibres, and tonbyan (桐板, tunban), a pre-war summer cloth of upper-class families now regarded as lost. Read more in our tonbyan guide. Two historic techniques, hanaori hand towels (花織手巾) and nīgashi bashōfu (煮綛芭蕉布, made with boiled banana thread), are not part of the national Shuri ori designation.
Did you know? The name “Shuri ori” is only about 40 years old. According to the cooperative, it was coined in 1983 as an umbrella term for Shuri’s many weaves when they were put forward for national Traditional Craft designation.
How Shuri Ori Is Made
The cooperative lists 14 steps: designing (often using classic pattern books), making the pattern heddles for hanaori, degumming and dyeing the silk, winding, warping, threading the heddles and reed, weaving with a throwing shuttle, and washing the finished cloth in lukewarm water. Finally, each piece is checked against Okinawa Prefecture’s textile inspection standard, and cloth that passes receives a certificate (合格之証).
Living National Treasures
Shuri no Orimono (首里の織物, Shuri textiles) is an Important Intangible Cultural Property. Miyahira Hatsuko (宮平初子) was certified as holder in 1998; her certification ended when she died in 2022. On 18 October 2023, Shukumine Kyōko (祝嶺恭子), born in Naha in 1937, was certified as the new holder. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database lists seven techniques under the designation: Shuri hanaori, dōton-ori (also written 両緞織), hanakura-ori, murudutchiri, tejima, nīgashi bashōfu and hanaori hand towels. It describes the cloth as mainly silk, with some ramie and bashō, dyed with Ryukyu indigo and other plants, with kasuri tied by hand and woven on traditional looms with a throwing shuttle.
Where to See, Try and Buy Shuri Ori
Shuri Senshokukan suikara
Shuri Senshokukan suikara (首里染織館suikara) is the home of Shuri ori. The weaving cooperative is on the third floor and the bingata cooperative on the second, with a shop and exhibitions. In the regular weaving experience, a cooperative member guides you as you weave about 10 cm (4 in) of silk hanaori on a throwing-shuttle loom in about an hour. There are two looms, so two people can take part at a time, and the centre recommends it for children from 5th grade of elementary school (around age 10) and up, with a height of at least 145 cm (4 ft 9 in). A longer experience lets you weave a tīgā, the cloth band wrapped around a sanshin.
suikara opens 10:30–18:00 and is closed on Tuesdays, over the New Year and on Ukui, the last day of the lunar Obon holiday. It is about a seven-minute walk from Shuri Station. Booking is recommended; same-day places are available if there is space. Phone: 098-917-6030.
Naha City Traditional Arts and Crafts Center
The Naha City Traditional Arts and Crafts Center on the second floor of Tenbusu Naha, on Kokusai Street, displays and sells Shuri ori and offers bookable Shuri ori weaving experiences.
Historic Shuri textiles appear in rotating displays at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum. For more to do in the city, see our Naha guide.
Practical details in this section last checked: Oct 2026.
How to Tell Authentic Shuri Ori
Genuine Shuri ori is inspected under Okinawa Prefecture’s textile inspection standard and receives a certificate of passing (合格之証). Designated Traditional Craft products may also carry the national Traditional Craft label (伝統証紙). Shuri ori is also a registered regional brand of the cooperative. If you are buying a kimono or obi, ask the seller to show you the labels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shuri ori?
Shuri ori is the collective name for the textiles of Shuri, the former royal capital in Naha: Shuri kasuri, hanaori, dōton-ori, hanakura-ori and Shuri minsā. It was designated a national Traditional Craft in 1983.
Where can I try Shuri ori weaving?
Shuri Senshokukan suikara near Shuri Castle offers a guided silk hanaori weaving experience of about an hour, and the Naha City Traditional Arts and Crafts Center at Tenbusu Naha also offers Shuri ori experiences. Booking is recommended.
Who is the Living National Treasure for Shuri textiles?
Shukumine Kyōko was certified as holder of the Important Intangible Cultural Property Shuri no Orimono on 18 October 2023. The previous holder, Miyahira Hatsuko, died in 2022.
What is the difference between hanaori and dōton-ori?
Both raise patterns with floating threads. In Shuri hanaori one face can show warp floats and the other weft floats, while dōton-ori shows warp floats on both sides and was used for men’s official robes.
Is Shuri ori made of silk?
Mostly, yes. Shuri ori is woven mainly in silk, but cotton, ramie and banana-fibre thread are also used.
Sources & Further Reading
Facts on this page were checked against these sources. Most are official Japanese-language pages from the prefecture, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, producers’ cooperatives and museums.
Official and cooperative sources
- Naha Traditional Textile Business Cooperative: What is Shuri ori? (Japanese)
- Okinawa Kōgei no Mori: Shuri ori (prefectural craft centre, Japanese)
- Okinawa Prefecture: Overview of craft industry policy, FY2024 (production-area profiles and holder lists as of June 2024) (official, Japanese)
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shuri no Orimono (official, Japanese)
- Naha City Traditional Arts and Crafts Center: History of Shuri ori (Japanese)
Places to visit
Further reading
- Tanaka Toshio and Tanaka Reiko, Okinawa Orimono no Kenkyū (沖縄織物の研究), Shikōsha, 1976 (book, Japanese)
Image credits
No photos are used on this page yet. We only use photos with a clear, commercially usable licence, and found none we could verify for this textile.