I recently acquired a Saganishiki loom. It appears to be old but I cannot find much information about where it came from. The woman in New York (an accomplished weaver, but not of Saganishiki) said she purchased it from a friend who bought it at an estate sale. The estate sale was for a woman, recently deceased, who collected unique looms. The box the loom came in was labeled "Obi Loom".

These were two of the warps that were included. One is gold and the other silver. They are packaged so that they are creased at the fold. One drawback with this is that the crease may show in the finished fabric. I don't know if this method is still used. If not, I wonder when it was stopped?

Today, the warp is left at full length, wrapped in stiff paper, then gently folded so that no crease is formed.

The knobs are interesting in that a round metal plate with protrusions is attached to the wooden disc. They fit into the holes in the metal plate. The knobs are used to advance the paper and then locked into place to prevent movement when weaving.

I have asked a fellow weaver in Japan and one in Texas if they know anything about this particular design. I believe it is important to identify the origin of a loom: made in USA or Japan. If Japan, what Prefecture. So much information about Saganishiki is unavailable in the US due to language barriers, lack of published weaving information in Japan, and limited number of people who do this type of weaving.

Saganishiki weaving equipment

The Saganishiki loom is relatively small, approximately 17" by 13". It is made of very light weight wood. The wood on each end is 5" in height. Underneath are two rollers that protrude on both sides. Rice paper

Various sized sticks are used in the weaving process.
The largest is a beater stick.

The second one is used to pick up warp threads when weaving a pattern.

The third stick is used as a tabby place holder.

The bottom two are older versions of the ones above.

Shuttles come in a variety of sizes, based upon the width of piece you are weaving. Silk thread is wound on the shuttle.

The sokobo is used as a heddle. For simple weaving, only one is used and serves as a tabby. When used in conjunction with the tabby stick, it then opens the second shed.
Some Saganishiki schools use a metal bar, with paper attached, in place of the sokobo.

Others may sue a round stick that has the warp threads attached to it.

More than one soboko can be used if doing a twill patterns but needs to be limited to 6 or else it becomes too heavy.

Soboko threaded.

Silk thread. The thread comes in a variety of sizes. Use the size thread that correlates to the warp cut. Example: 30 cut warp, use a #30 silk thread.

Warp is rice paper that is laquered for strength and durability. It can come with either imitation or gold leaf laminated to the top surface. Silver or platimum are other metal alternatives. Other laquered surfaces are available from black to varigated. Each end is solid paper which is glued to the rice paper on the rollers.

The size is the number of cuts in 3 centimeters. The cut range is from 35-60,with 60 being the finest.