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Indigo is a somewhat intensive crop, requiring fertilizer six times per season, and considerable labor, and is quite sensitive, or delicate. Poor handling can severely damage the quality of the crop. Once harvested, the leaves must be chopped and dried immediately, before they wither. Indigo processors known as ''aishi'' took the chopped dried leaves and mixed them with water, forming them into a mash which was allowed to ferment for several months, ideally under specific conditions of temperature, pressure, and moisture. The dye is formed as the leaves ferment; in order to obtain high quality dye, the leaves must be fermented neither too little nor too much. Once ready, the mash was then beaten and formed into balls or cubes known as ''aidama''. It was in this form that they were then sold to dyers, typically based in [[Kyoto]] or [[Osaka]].
Indigo is a somewhat intensive crop, requiring fertilizer six times per season, and considerable labor, and is quite sensitive, or delicate. Poor handling can severely damage the quality of the crop. Once harvested, the leaves must be chopped and dried immediately, before they wither. Indigo processors known as ''aishi'' took the chopped dried leaves and mixed them with water, forming them into a mash which was allowed to ferment for several months, ideally under specific conditions of temperature, pressure, and moisture. The dye is formed as the leaves ferment; in order to obtain high quality dye, the leaves must be fermented neither too little nor too much. Once ready, the mash was then beaten and formed into balls or cubes known as ''aidama''. It was in this form that they were then sold to dyers, typically based in [[Kyoto]] or [[Osaka]].
''Persicaria tinctoria'' (J: ''ai'', ''tadeai''), a plant native to East Asia, was used for indigo dyeing in China as early as the [[Western Zhou]] period (c. 1000 BCE), and was originally used in Japan as well, until the use of ''Indigofera tinctoria'' ("true indigo", J: ''komatsunagi'') and or other plants of the ''Indigofera'' genus originally native to India spread into East Asia as it also spread into Europe. [[Ryukyuan textiles|Ryukyuan]] indigo dyeing, meanwhile, traditionally used a different plant, ''Strobilenthes cusia'' (J: kitsunenomago), as was also used in Taiwan.<ref>Gallery labels, "Churashima Textiles" exhibition, Shoto Museum, Tokyo, Sept 2019.</ref>
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