Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art (210)

Maiwai-gi which is a festive kimono of fishermem. It was given to fishermen from a master of fishermen or an owner of a fish boat on the occasion of large catch. It is mostly made of cotton with auspicious motifs with katazome (stencil-resist-dye) and partly hand painting. The original location of the Maiwai-gi is Boso peninsula in Chiba prefecture since late Edo period and spread along the Pacific Coast. This one has thick cotton lining so that it is made into yogi (kimono shaped bedding)...

4 sheets of Chiyo-gami with autumn leaves designs which are woodblock prints. The paper is washi, a handmade paper made from mulberry fiber. Chiyo-gami was originated in Kyoto and developed in Edo later. It was used for paper dolls and paper crafts. Generally the larger one is the older. Clockwise from top left: 53cm x 37cm, 52cm x 37.5cm, 41cm x 32cm, 53cm x 37cm The top left one has rather thick texture and others have thin texture. The fourth one has a break in the corner...

Bashofu kimono hand-woven of ito-basho, which is a family of banana tree, for both wefts and warps. The blue stripe yarn is dyed with Ryukyu-ai, vegetable indigo in Okinawa. Bashofu has been woven in many Islands in Okinawa from old days, for everyday kimono or work wear. The first half of the 20th century. In good condition except for a few brownish stains. W:120cm, L:117cm

Long cloth with shibori which is worn by a woman when she worked in the fields to protect skin from sunburn or bug bites, which covers a head with only an opening for eyes. It was mainly used in the southern part of Tohoku district. It is made of cotton and dyed with vegetable indigo. The fronthead part has double cloth. In good condition but the white stitches have some ravels and a few small holes. The first half of the 20th century. 34.5cm x 170cm

Pilgrim's coat made of asa (hemp) with hand-written Buddhist sutra. It also has stampted Zao Gongen who is a main image of the Kinpusen-ji temple and Ominesan-ji temple. It has many red stamps of holy places where the pilgrim had visited such as Ominesan-ji, Kinpusen-ji, Zaodo etc. which are located between Wakayama and Nara prefecture where "shugen-sha ( holy man )" has been practicing Shugendo. The area was designated as "World Heritage". The first half of the 20th century...

Yuki-boshi (snow hat) or yuki-kabuto (snow helmet) made of palm tree fiber and vegetable indigo dye cotton inside. It has washi painted with Paulownia oil for waterproof, between outside and cotton indigo lining. It is from Shonai region in Yamagata prefecture in Tohoku district. It is said it was worn by "matagi", a hunter. The first half of the 20th century. In good condition with belts inside are left, which is rather rare. 40cm x 50cm

Arai-hari meisen cloth for one kimono. Arai-hari means a kimono is unsewn, washed and dried on the board, which is a traditional way of cleaning kimono. In excellent condition except for minor spots in one part (10th image). It is strong enough so that good for remaking. Two pieces for the body part, each one has different width in the middle, shoulder part (11th image). W:35cm and 23cm x 3m24cm Two okumi (front panel) cloth. W:17.5cm x 2m16cm Two sleeve cloth, sewn in one cloth...

A small rug or ashifuki (foot dryer) made of hand-spun cotton and indigo dye shibori pattern, one is sekka shibori (clamp-board dye) and Kumo-shibori. It has two layers of cloth with sashiko. The first half of the 20th century.In good condition except for a stain. 69cm x 46cm

Bashofu kimono made of several different pieces of bashofu with stripes. It is roughly sewn together, so it might be worn for a work wear. Both weft and warp are hand-plied. In good condition except for some stains. The first half of the 20th century. 124cm x 126cm

Makanai which is a kimono worn at home after work in the Nanbu region, where is the east part of Aomori prefecture. It is made of hemp cloth whose wefts and warps are hand-plied and lightly vegetable indigo dyed. The lining is machine-spun cotton. It has very fine sashiko with indigo dye cotton yarn. In good condition but has light stains in front as well as in the back. The last image is from the book "Michinoku-no-Kohu-no-Sekai" by Tanaka Chuzaburo. The first half of the 20th century...

Saiho-hinagata (or hinagata), the sewing sample which is a miniature sample to learn sewing. It was invented by an educator for saving time and textile using a special measuring rod. It was practiced in a girl's school from Meiji 7, 1874). Reduced scales were one-third in the beginning and one-quarter, one-half, one-fifth etc. The sewing technique was exactly same as the real size in details. Saiho-hinagata was designated as a significant tangible folk cultural asset...

A fisherman's work wear hand-woven of hemp for the weft and cotton yarn for the warp. Stripes are vegetable indigo dye and also natural color cotton yarn. It is from Tsushima in Nagasaki prefecture, an island located between Korean Peninsula and north Kyushu, and the textile is called Tsushima-asa. It had been woven till 1930s, but not woven since then, so it is precious, especially in this excellent condition one...

Cotton noragi hanten which is hand-spun and vegetable indigo dye. It has cotton kasuri collar cloth which is also vegetable indigo dye and hand-spun. In excellent condition and has thick texture. The first half of the 20th century. W:94cm, L:89cm W of shoulders:61cm

Junrei's hakui (pilgrim's hanten) with many stamps of holy places in Shikoku, which is made of white hand-spun cotton. The ink letters reads "Shikoku Hachiju-hachi-ka-reisho" which means eighty eight holy places in Shikoku. It seems that the pilgrim visited all the eighty eight holy places. In good condition. The first half of the 20th century. 114cm x 87cm

Wood tray mended with metal hinges. It has beautiful annual growth rings and grains. The first half of the 20th century. W:27.5cm, L:40cm, H:4.8cm, Weight:1100gm

Two pieces of yogi (bedding) which are hand-sewn by a girl student at the sewing school which were established around 1880. It is called "hinagata" and generally one third of measurement of a real one. The left one is sodenashi yogi (sleeveless top cover) and the right one is yogi (top cover with sleeves). The purpose of making sewing samples is efficiency for time and material. It has been made till 1940s in the sewing school of which students are mostly girls. Each hinagata has a student's nam...

This is a silk meisen Haori which is heiyo-gasuri. As for the heiyo-gasuri, warps and wefts are stencil printed separately and then machine-woven. Heiyo-gasuri made it possible to make more vivid, colorful and free design. It has reddish brown flowers with gray and yellow in beige ground. It has silk lining with beautiful stencil-printed flowers pattern and hand-braided cords in front. In excellent condition. Mid 20th century. 128cm x 78cm

A basket made of akebi (Akebia quinata) vine which is from Yamagata prefecture in Tohoku district. In excellent condition, no break. The first half of the 20th century. H:22cm, W:30cm, D:20cm