Yumihamagasuri Koubou B is the studio of Kanako Butsusaka, a weaver working in the Yumihama-gasuri tradition of western Tottori Prefecture. Yumihama-gasuri is a centuries-old style of kasuri — Japanese ikat-dyed weaving — in which yarns are bound and dyed before being woven into pre-planned patterns. Butsusaka brings to the tradition both formal training in textile arts and a wide-ranging interest in fabrics from around the world.

Butsusaka studied at a textile school before becoming an apprentice in kasuri. Her practice extends well beyond traditional kimono designs, drawing on diverse fabric traditions and aesthetics. She is fluent in classic kasuri while also actively reviving older patterns and developing new ones, and her studio reflects this balance of inherited and contemporary work.

One of the more striking dimensions of her practice concerns kasuri's history of incomplete production. In the past, large quantities of yarns were dyed for specific patterns but never woven; the yarns survive, but the patterns they were intended to form remain unknown until the weaving is done. Butsusaka takes these forgotten yarns and weaves them into cloth, bringing nearly lost designs back to life.

Growing up locally, Butsusaka recalls kasuri being part of everyday life — she had assumed that all women naturally took up the craft as they aged. The discovery of a municipal apprentice program created to safeguard the future of kasuri made the situation clear: the craft was endangered. Initially she applied only to express her support for the initiative, but her background and natural affinity for kasuri led to her selection as an apprentice. Her career grew from there.