Pictures of the Week: March 12 – 18, 2005

Snow-White
Nakajima Kiyoshi, a fourth generation kimono fabric weaver, places kimono fabric on the snow for cleaning in the mountain village of Shiozawa. One of Japan's three finest kimono textile villages, Shiozawa is famous for "Yuki-zarashi," a process of making the whitest fabrics. Lengths of silk and hemp fabric are placed on the snow to absorb sunlight to whiten and remove impurities. The handmade lengths of fabric can fetch up to $48,000