Noren (door curtain), woven blue cotton with paste-resist octopus design, Japan, late 19th - early 20th century

Doorway curtain (noren), constructed from two loom widths of cotton. The design is of an octopus among waves executed using the tsutsugaki technique. The pattern would have been outlined in rice paste extracted from a cloth tube, these ribbons and spots of paste being the areas protected from colour when the dyes were applied. The orange shades would then have been brushed on before the whole of the octopus was covered in paste and the fabric dipped in an indigo dye bath to achieve the pale blue of the waves. These areas would then have also been covered in paste before repeated dipping to achieve the very dark blue of the background. The two sections would then have been sewn together vertically at the top, leaving the lower part open to allow passage through the doorway. At the top are three dark indigo dyed tabs, sewn on pale indigo cotton thread.

Purchased. Registered File Number 1981/1804.

This Japanese textile is called a ‘noren’. It would have hung at the entrance to a shop or restaurant to indicate that the establishment was open for business. Noren, still used in Japan today, give protection against rain and dust and shade from the sun. They also dissuade prying eyes, yet can easily be brushed aside to allow people to enter. Noren are made from separate panels of cloth sewn together at the top. They have simple, bold designs that suit their function as advertisements. This noren, with its stiking octopus motif, probably hung at the entrance to a shop or restaurant specialising in seafood.

FE.49-1982