What a beautifully colored and intricately decorated child’s kimono: this example woven from hemp dates to the mid-nineteenth century as we can tell by the large-size kamon or family crests seen on the sleeves and nape of this elaborate garment.

The images on this kimono are extremely finely rendered.  The white details are drawn by hand using a paste resist technique, in this case we can refer to this as yuzen-zome, an elaborate dyeing method very much associated with Kyoto–as well as Kanazawa–during Japan’s Edo Period.

The motives painted on this kimono are auspicious and intended to convey a wish for a long, healthy life.  The crane, of course, is a symbol of long life, as is the pine, both of which are magnificently drawn here.  Notice the intricacy of detail and the sure hand of the artisan who rendered these images.

The refined hand that depicted these delicate sprays of pine needles is remarkable: unusual and charming is the siege of fledgling cranes frolicking in and alighting on this old pine tree.  Note as well the pine needles strewn on the ground.  As pine needles fall in pairs, they are a symbol of conjugal fidelity, so layered into the multiple visual wishes for the child who wore this kimono was a special one for a happy marriage.

Below is a view of the inside of the kimono: I’m showing this view as the contrast of the benibana (safflower) resist dyed crepe silk detail is a lovely contrast to the maize colored hemp cloth, and I thought you’d enjoy seeing this.

The previous post, just below this one, introduced the work of           Hiroko Karuno, a contemporary shifu artist who weaves cloth from paper.  This post shows a historical example of shifu, in this case an indigo dyed work coat which likely dates from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

This coat was woven from a shredded, recycled paper weft against a cotton warp; it seems the cloth was piece dyed before it was sewn.  The kasuri cotton used to reinforce the collar, seen above, appears to have been woven in Shonai or in Yamagata, Japan, so we may deduce this coat comes from Japan’s Tohoku Region.

Because of the nature of the paper mulberry washi which was used to weave shifu, paper cloth is surprisingly lighter in weight than woven cotton, bast fiber or silk.  Note the detail photos here which attempt to zero in on the quality of the paper woven cloth: rustic shifu such as this is usually slubby and knotty in appearance.

This coat has been worn as can be seen by the overall patina and some slight fraying to seams; still, it’s a beautiful example of shifu clothing, which is something of a rare commodity in the field of Japanese folk textiles.