Shown today are two small fragments of bingata dyed fabric, the precious stencil dyed cloth of the Ryukyu Islands or Okinawa.  Few other types of cloth are as prized in Japan as is bingata

It is the beauty of bingata that is attractive to the Japanese and to others, but it’s also the complex stencil resist and dyeing techniques that add value to this cloth–as well as a sense of wonder.  This cloth is resisted and dyed on both sides, with additional color being added by hand: the process of the stencil resisting and the process of how and when color is added to the cloth is far too complicated to go into in this post: suffice it to say that the elevated status of bingata in the pantheon of resist dyed cloth is more than well deserved.The piece shown on the left, above and below, is dyed on ramie cloth; the yellow piece to its right is dyed on cotton.  The delicacy and colors of these patterns, and the light touch of the dyers, is really impressive.   One of Japan’s most famous modern graphic artists, Keisuke Serizawa (1895- 1984). the subject of a previous post on this blog, was so profoundly inspired by bingata dyeing that his entire artistic career was colored by the amazing technique and appearance of this extravagant cloth from Okinawa.These fragments most likely date to the last quarter of the 19th century.

The past holds many mysteries, and this is especially true in trying to understand the function of certain objects that have survived many eras, from an old one to the current one.  This is the case with these laminated paper, large, “slings” shown here today.

Old Japan is not so different than any culture where time has marched on and has left obsolete objects in its wake.  On today’s posting are three fairly large (64″ x 30″/1.6 m x 76 cm ) items that are made of recycled sheets of paper which have been layered and laminated until they have attained the weight of cardboard.  To each is stitched four tabs, two on each short end.  What was the purpose of these?  We’re not sure, but we like the sgraffito, the layers and the texture on each.My Japanese source for these items has a long, rich history dealing in folk art; he surmises that these paper objects may have been used in a cottage industry silk manufacture, either for storing materials related to cocoons–or perhaps they acted as some kind of insulation.  Their tabbed ends certainly show that these things were suspended.The “drawing” on these papers–the result of laying out pages from recycled books–is evocative of many things: ancient city planning, circuitry–skyscrapers.  Beautiful to look at and to dream upon.