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Japanese Textiles: How to Read the Cloth

Start here

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    Japanese Textile Arts

    Begin with three questions: what is the material, how was the pattern made, and what was the object used for? Read those label fields separately. Then compare the next two techniques by asking whether dye was applied to yarn or to woven cloth. This overview also links to textile events.

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    Kasuri

    Was the pattern planned in the yarn? In kasuri, sections of yarn are resist-dyed before the finished cloth is woven. The Textile Museum of Canada’s kimono T84.0010 uses patterned warp and weft. Read this first, then compare shibori: similar-looking colour effects can come from different stages of making.

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    Shibori

    Now look for areas of cloth protected from dye by binding or stitching. A textile can combine processes: the Met’s grapevine-and-fence kosode fragments, illustrated in this Wiki, unite silk satin damask, shibori and embroidery. Try separating woven texture, dyed areas and added thread instead of giving the whole object one technique label.

Foundations

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    Yūzen Dyeing

    What changes when paste controls the colour? Hand-painted yūzen combines paste resist with colour applied to the cloth. Compare this with bound shibori and yarn-patterned kasuri. Use the label to identify the process; a floral design alone does not tell you how it was made.

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    Sashiko

    Is the visible line made from added thread? Sashiko uses running stitches to reinforce or join cloth and can also create decorative patterns. Look at the jacket illustrated in this Wiki: distinguish the white stitching from the indigo-dyed ground, then ask what practical work the stitches perform.

Explore

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    Nishijin-ori

    Does the name describe a place-linked industry rather than one technique? Nishijin-ori covers varied figured textiles made with pre-dyed yarn in Kyoto. After the dyeing comparisons, read this to distinguish a production name from a material or a single weave. Look for the more specific technique on the object label.

Places

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    Tokyo National Museum

    Put the questions to work at the Tokyo National Museum: choose one displayed textile and record its material, technique and use before interpreting the motif. Check the museum’s current exhibition schedule first. Textiles rotate for conservation, so a collection record is not a promise that an object will be on view.