Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture Collaborates with Osaka Seikei University to Develop Tote Bags Dyed with Kurokawa Kikutan

Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, has collaborated with the Department of Lifestyle Design at Osaka Seikei University to jointly develop tote bags dyed with "Ikkotan (Kikutan)," a local specialty from the Kurokawa district in the northern part of the city. These are registered as Furusato Nozei (hometown tax) gift items from March 2026.

This initiative was carried out as part of an industry-academia-government collaboration with the Department of Lifestyle Design at Osaka Seikei University.

Fragments of Kikutan, which were previously unused and generated during the Kikutan production process in the Kurokawa district, were pulverized to nano-size to develop a dye.

The fabric, dyed while preserving its original hue, was used to create tote bags based on student ideas.

These will be registered as Furusato Nozei gift items in March 2026, so please consider obtaining one!

Reference Press Release Charcoal burning continuing since the Muromachi period: Ikkotan (Kikutan) kiln firing begins in the Kurokawa district https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000481.000098199.html

Furusato Nozei Sites Furusato Choice https://www.furusato-tax.jp/product/detail/28217/6977562 Rakuten Furusato Nozei https://item.rakuten.co.jp/f282171-kawanishi/kwndg001/ Furunavi https://furunavi.jp/product_detail.aspx?pid=1744286