Copies of the catalog that accompany the show Mottainai: The Fabric of Life, Lessons in Frugality from Traditional Japan at the Portland Japanese Garden are now available on the website.  Click here to buy a catalog.60 pages, full color, soft cover, in English and Japanese
8 1/4″ x 8 1/4″, 21 cm x 21 cm
Published by Gallery Kei, Kyoto

essays:
-Before Cotton, by Kei Kawasaki
-Cotton and Japan, by Stephen Szczepanek
-with an introduction by Diane Durston, Curator of Culture, Art and Education at the Portland Japanese Garden and an afterword by Kei Kawasaki

with brief sections on:

Before Cotton:
-Ohyo/ Elm
-Shina/ Linden
-Fuji/ Wisteria
-Shi-fu/ Paper
-Tafu/ Paper Mulberry
-Kuzu/ Kudzu
-Bahsho/ Banana
-Asa/ Hemp and Ramie
-Okuso/ Hemp Waste

After Cotton:
-Sashiko Kotatsufuton
-Zanshi-ori Futonji
-Boro Futonji
-Boro Yogi
-Sakiori Hanten
-Boro Noragi
-Boro Momohiki
-Boro Maekake
-Sashiko Zokin
-Komebukuro

I really love this.  This is a hinagata, or a kind of practice kimono, that is glued together from Meiji era (1868-1912)  ledger book pages.The kimono is a scaled-down adult one: it measures 45″ x 43″ or 114.5 cm x 109 cm.When the sun illuminates this kimono from behind, it becomes a lantern of sorts, and its character is completely different than what I am showing here today.

I’ve never seen one like this before I found this one.  There are two others, smaller.  Maybe I’ll show them on a later post.