Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art: Asian (211)

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

Cotton kimono with katazome (stencil-resist-dye) pattern butterfly crest and dancer. It is made from cloth for tenugui (towel). It has rather thick texture and in good condition except for some dirty line in the neck. The first half of the 20th century. 118cm x 131cm

Cotton futonji with beautiful kasuri in check pattern, which is handwoven. Warps and wefts are both hand-spun and vegetable dye, indigo and brown color. It is from Fukuyama city in Hiroshima prefecture (Bingo-gasuri). The first half of the 20th century. In excellent condition. W:131cm, L:140cm

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...

Sakiori coat whose wefts are strips from old vegetable indigo dye cotton cloth and warps are hemp yarn. Wefts are fine strips comparing with other sakiori items. The short sleeves are for ease of movement, as it is "hamagi", worn at the seaside. In good condition except for two mending patches. The first half of the 20th century. W:85cm, L:92cm

Noragi (work wear) made of asa (hemp) whose both wets and warps are hand-plied. The sleeves are vegetable indigo dyed cotton. A few holes with mending patches. Late 19th to mid 20th century. 109cm x 71cm

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

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...

Furoshiki (wrapping cloth) with owner's name, made of asa (hemp) whose warps and wefts are hand-plied. It has 4 mending patches with same cloth as the ground. It has un-dyed cotton cloth for reinforcement in the middle and has sashiko. Used but in excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century. 132cm x 138cm

Hanten with sashiko and mending patches which is from Shonai region in Yamagata prefecture. It is made of many indigo dye cotton fragments as cotton was precious in regions with cold climate. It has beautiful vegetable indigo faded and worn-out parts. The first half of the 20th century. W:85cm, L:90cm

A wood bowl used by a lacquer ware maker. It has layers of red and black urushi. It is used by a craftsperson of Aizu-nuri, from Aizu in Fukushima in Tohoku district. The first half of the 20th century. Diameter:15.8cm, H:6.5cm

A large bag made of taima (hemp) which was used for cocoons. The first half of the 20th century when the Japanese silk industry was most prosperous. This bag might have been used at the silk-raising farmers. Many mending stitches and a few patches. L:109cm, W:81cm

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

Boro sodenashsi (vest) made of cotton stripes for outside and hand-spun and vegetable indigo dye cotton inside. It has 2 layers indigo cloth with sashiko and 3 layers with stripes parts. The first half of the 20th century from Tohoku district. Shoulder W:36cm, Hem W:53cm, L:69cm

Sakiori sodenashi (vest) whose wefts are cotton strips recycled from old cloth. Warps are asa (hemp) and it has hand-stitched sashiko in the upper back. The indigo cotton cloth in both sides are replaced and machine-sewn. In excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century. 44cm (top) x 74cm

Lined woman's kimono made of high quality silk crepe with geometric pattern which is katazome (stencil-resist-dye). In good condition except for a few minor stains. 1920s or 30s. 124cm x 148cm

Three pieces of wood plates with red and black urushi (lacquer). The bottom two are same ones but the top one is a bit different. Generally in good condition but have some minor flaws. Top: 10.3cm x 3cm, Bottom two: 10cm x 2.5cm

Sakiori sodenashi (vest) handwoven of strips recycled from old cotton cloth for wefts, and hemp yarn for warps. Sakiori hanten and sodenashi were made mainly in districts along the Japan Sea of the mainland, where they have much snow and cold climate in winter. Piping cloth is indigo dye cotton. In excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century. W:49cm, L:86cm