Journal

Essays on Japanese textile history, craft, and the culture of ceremonial silk — alongside guides to caring for and living with ceremonial silk objects.

Two Runners in One

The Aki-No-Mori is a fully reversible table runner: both faces woven from Japanese ceremonial silk, each carrying a complete composition. Turn it over and the runner does not reveal an...

Two Runners in One

The Aki-No-Mori is a fully reversible table runner: both faces woven from Japanese ceremonial silk, each carrying a complete composition. Turn it over and the runner does not reveal an...

The Weight of Time

Pick up a piece of Japanese ceremonial Nishijin obi silk and you will notice the weight before you notice anything else. Not heaviness — it is silk, after all —...

The Weight of Time

Pick up a piece of Japanese ceremonial Nishijin obi silk and you will notice the weight before you notice anything else. Not heaviness — it is silk, after all —...

Silk in the European Room

A question we get asked often: how do you actually put Japanese ceremonial silk into a European home without it feeling like a costume? It is a fair question. The...

Silk in the European Room

A question we get asked often: how do you actually put Japanese ceremonial silk into a European home without it feeling like a costume? It is a fair question. The...

A Colour Palette for 2026

Every year at Renaras, certain colours rise to the surface. Not because we planned them — we work with Japanese ceremonial silk, so we take what the estates offer —...

A Colour Palette for 2026

Every year at Renaras, certain colours rise to the surface. Not because we planned them — we work with Japanese ceremonial silk, so we take what the estates offer —...

A Letter for the Year of the Horse

We wanted to write you a proper letter. Not a manifesto. Not a trend forecast. Just an honest account of where Renaras stands as we move into 2026 — what...

A Letter for the Year of the Horse

We wanted to write you a proper letter. Not a manifesto. Not a trend forecast. Just an honest account of where Renaras stands as we move into 2026 — what...

From Dejima to the Jordaan

For two hundred years, during Japan's period of sakoku — the closed-country policy that sealed the archipelago from almost all foreign contact — the Dutch were the exception. Not because...

From Dejima to the Jordaan

For two hundred years, during Japan's period of sakoku — the closed-country policy that sealed the archipelago from almost all foreign contact — the Dutch were the exception. Not because...