Bashofu, or cloth woven from yarn obtained from fibers of the leaf bases of the Musa balbisiana, a variety of banana tree, is the cultural signifier of the people of Okinawa, both internally and from abroad.  Bashofu in varying grades was worn by everyone in Okinawa since the sixteenth century, from the impoverished who would wear garments of bashofu rags to the ruling class who would wear kimono of the rarest quality, woven with the most extravagant patterns.  Although Musa balbisiana is not native to Okinawa, its cloth is now synonymous with the Okinawan archipelago.

Bashofu is a highly collectible cloth and it is extremely distinctive in appearance and texture.  Because it is woven from fibers taken from leaves, it is not considered a bast fiber like hemp, ramie or wisteria, but rather it is thought of as a leaf fiber.

This is a child’s kimono, with modified, semi-”Western” sleeves; note that the shoulders are darted and the waistline is tacked up: this is due to two factors: the standard loom width is too wide for a child’s shoulders and therefore they are modified without cutting the cloth; likewise, the length is drawn up so as the child grows the length can adjusted, again, without cutting precious cloth.  The closure for this small kimono is made from two long white cotton pieces which was tied as a kind of sash.

This bashofu child’s kimono is dyed in the kasuri or ikat method which produces the repeat pattern seen on this small, gorgeous thing.  This is a warp kasuri, meaning only the “vertical” threads are dyed.

Getting into the kasuri (ikat) traditions of Okinawa and their impact on the development of Japanese kasuri weaving is a vouminous study–too complex to get into here–but suffice it to say that for centuries the mainland Japanese admired Okinawan cloth. The Japanese ikat weaving was directly affected by Okinawan patterns and concepts, especially as adapted by the asa weaving traditions of omi jofu and echigo jofu.

To this day, the Japanese admiration of Okinawan textile traditions is unabated, and for centuries Japan has borrowed much from the weavers of Okinawa.

A kotatsu is a kind of brazier that was centrally placed in the Japanese house; in the olden days, it was the only source of heat in Japanese homes.  To provide direct heat and comfort, an armature would be placed over the brazier and a blanket, or kotatsugake, would be placed over this heater and family members would sit around the brazier with their lower bodies tucked under the kotatsugake.  Kotatsugake are still very much a part of Japanese society these days, however now they are electric and thus there is no need for the kotatsu.

This fabulous kotatsugake is wildly rich with sashiko stitches and large, cotton patches.  The thing itself is sewn from many layers of recycled cotton clothing; it is quite heavy.  Note the wonderful, oversized, resist dyed plum blossom that dominates the top, center of the kotatsugake.

Unusual is the change of direction of the rows of sashiko stitching: notice the ‘mitered’ corner effect created by two converging directions of sashiko.

The size of this kotatsugake is  61″ x 53″, 155 cm x 135 cm, which is a fairly standard size.  Sakiori ‘rugs’ were, in fact, kotatsugake, not rugs, however it is more convenient to refer to them as rugs since this has become their current function, especially in Western interiors.

The reverse side of this piece is equally beautiful to the side discussed above.  I’m thrilled to have this piece, which I think is a superb example of a sashiko stitched kotatsugake.