This utilitarian garment would have been worn by a peasant farmer or fisherman in late 19th century Japan. It has been pieced together, patched and further repaired using re-cycled indigo-dyed cotton. This type of textile is known as ‘boro’, from ‘boroboro’ which means ‘in tatters’. As well as having a distinctive visual appearance, the garment is palpably imbued with the history of its use. The shredded end of the left sleeve, for example, suggest the wearer was left-handed or performed some repetitive task that exerted friction on this part of the garment.