I’ve had this indigo dyed cotton shibori han juban for a few years.  I bought it for its wonderful, hand spun cotton yarns and its beautiful shibori pattern.  Only recently, though, did I turn it inside-out, only to realize that I like the “inside” better than the “outside.”As you can see from these photos, the inside of the han juban or half under-kimono, shows a centrally placed, undyed, hand spun and hand woven cotton panel which reinforces the back of the piece, shown here.  Very nice cotton indeed.  And flanking it are two patches, one pinkish and one white.  It’s amazing how perfectly placed these patches are: the visual allure is uncanny and unintended.Very nice shibori, too.This lovely piece probably dates to the late nineteenth century or so, and like many other Japanese folk textiles, is full of surprises once you start really looking.

I really like this work jacket but I was wondering if I should post images of it.  I thought that in photos the dark indigo cotton cloth too murkily masks the subtle details of the jacket: the details are easier to see in person.The coat is densely stitched with tiny stitches of dark blue threads on a dark blue background.  In photos this is a bit lost, but in daylight, when standing in front of the piece, this detail is beautifully evident.  In the photos posted here, any slight undulation to the surface of the coat is due to the countless stitches which hold the two or three layers of cotton cloth together, making this a durable, warm garment.Add to that, the cloth on the exterior of the garment is something special, it’s referred to as mosquito kasuri or kagasuri: the intersections of white, resisted areas of the warp and weft yarns are as tiny as mosquitoes.  Imagine the great skill needed to weave such a delicate pattern.The interior of the coat, below, with its lighter color, shows a bit more evidence of the coat’s stitching–and many hand tied knots can be seen.The lining, too, is of kagasuri–and the entire coat is made of recycled cloth.When looking at the coat head-on, as in the first photo shown, above, the bold placement of the central patch on the back of the jacket is a visual treat, and is one of the things that tempted me to acquire this softspoken beauty.  And the color, the rich, sapphire blue was hard to resist.

Most likely this dates to the early-to-middle part of the 20th century and measures 44″ x 49″ or 112 x 124.5 cm.