Wakayama Daibakusho | Maruwa Knit / GENGEN of sky and sea (Sweatshirt)

Future Yarn / "Recycled Cotton®" adopted
"Maruwa Knit" is a circular knitting factory that creates unique fabrics. This time, exhibiting at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, they created unique T-shirts and sweatshirts with their one-of-a-kind knitting machines. We interviewed CEO Yūsaku Tsuji.
-Two types of unique knitting machines were used this time. For the T-shirts, "Balancer Circular" combines the comfort of knitwear with the beauty of woven fabric by knitting nylon warp threads into circular knitting. This is a fabric with a unique technology possessed only by Maruwa Knit in the world. For the sweatshirts, the "Computer Jacquard Machine" creates art-like patterns by pulling out the back yarn of the fleece knit to the front. Both seem to be modified old knitting machines by your company.
Tsuji: Yes. We have custom-made the Balancer Circular from the 70s and the Computer Jacquard Machine from the 80s, reviving them as machines that create fabrics for new applications. By knitting "Recycled Cotton®" with these machines, both the machine and the yarn become recycled materials. We thought we could express circular manufacturing that aligns with the theme of the Expo.
-Have you used recycled cotton yarn before?
Tsuji: This is the first time. Our Balancer Circular knitting machine excels at flat and smooth fabrics, and yarns with uneven surfaces are not suitable for knitting. However, "Recycled Cotton®" is 100% recycled cotton yet has a quality like virgin cotton. When I actually knitted it, it had a slightly rough feel, which became a unique hidden flavor.
-Please tell us about the features of the product.
Tsuji: The T-shirt is made of "Balancer Circular Jersey." While utilizing the firmness of the Balancer Circular fabric, Fujibo Textiles processed it to be beautiful and soft. Although slight, it has a casual feel, and I personally like its unique character, which is different from previous Balancer Circular items.
-The sweatshirt is a unique product where the pattern is expressed by the unevenness of the knit.
Tsuji: We used a Japanese art pattern that looks like ink drawings of Wakayama's sky and sea. The face yarn is undyed Recycled Cotton®, and the back yarn is black Recycled Cotton®. After knitting with a computer jacquard fleece knitting machine, we used Toyo Dyeing's vintage processing "Peel Off" to create shades, devising a way to make the pattern more three-dimensional. We express a vintage and artistic feel using sustainable yarn.
-A special Expo version of Maruwa Knit's proud original fabric has been completed.
Tsuji: Yes. I believe other companies are also releasing unique items that can only be knitted by them. I hope the diversity of Wakayama knitwear can be conveyed through Wakayama Daibakusho.
In Wakayama, there is Koyasan, a sacred site of Shingon Buddhism, and it is said that the founder, Kobo Daishi Kukai, continues to meditate there even after 1200 years. In a text reflecting on his youth, Kukai uses the word "Gengen" (還源). While translated as "enlightenment" by writing "returning to the source," Shingon Buddhism acknowledges reincarnation, and "Gengen" also includes the nuance of rebirth. Mountains and seas, circular knitting and weaving. Two Gengen born from the circle of recycling. Wearing it will broaden your thoughts.