Jacket
1880-1920 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This colourful jacket would probably have been worn on a festive occasion. The motifs - a samurai helmet and arrows - are associated with the Boys Festival, which takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The pattern has been created using a technique called ‘tsutsugaki’. In this method a design is drawn on the cloth with paste squeezed from a tube (tsutsu). The tube is made from paper treated with persimmon juice to make it water resistant; it has a nozzle of bamboo or metal through which the paste is extruded. The paste, made of rice flour, lime and water, forms a protective coating that prevents the colour penetrating when the cloth is dyed.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Cotton with resist-dyed decoration |
Brief description | Sleeveless jacket, cotton with freehand paste-resist decoration, Japan, 1880-1920 |
Physical description | Sleeveless jacket of cotton bearing all-over large-scale motifs of a samurai helmet, arrows, shishi (mythical lion) and peonies in shades of blue and red on a dark blue ground. The design is executed in the resist-dye technique knoen as tsutsugaki (tube drawing). The jacket is simply cut in the usual Japanese style with a centre back seam and no shoulder seams. There are no inserts at the front but a long collar band extends almost to the bottom of the jacket. The collar band and the armholes are faced with undyed soft cotton which is sewn to the jacket with alternating long and short straight stitches in thick white cotton thread. The armholes are open to a depth of 39 cms. The jacket is unlined. |
Dimensions |
|
Gallery label | Sleeveless jacket with military motifs
1900–30
This colourful jacket would have been worn on a celebratory occasion, the military motifs suggesting the Boys’ Day Festival in May. The pattern was created using the tsutsugaki freehand paste-resist dyeing technique. The fine lines of the design are drawn on the cloth with rice paste squeezed from a tube. The paste forms a protective coating that prevents colour penetrating when the fabric is dyed.
Cotton with freehand paste-resist dyeing (tsutsugaki)
Museum no. FE.103-1982
(04/11/2015) |
Object history | Purchased. Registered File number 1982/1022. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This colourful jacket would probably have been worn on a festive occasion. The motifs - a samurai helmet and arrows - are associated with the Boys Festival, which takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The pattern has been created using a technique called ‘tsutsugaki’. In this method a design is drawn on the cloth with paste squeezed from a tube (tsutsu). The tube is made from paper treated with persimmon juice to make it water resistant; it has a nozzle of bamboo or metal through which the paste is extruded. The paste, made of rice flour, lime and water, forms a protective coating that prevents the colour penetrating when the cloth is dyed. |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | FE.103-1982 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | February 12, 2000 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSON