Preamble
There have been three other posts on this blog spot that have centered on Arabesque Patterns and for your convenience I have listed them below.
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part I)
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part II)
Sarasa Arabesque Patterns (Part III)
Stencil-Dyed Indigo Arabesque Patterns (Part V)
The Evolution of Yuzen-dyeing Techniques and Designs after the Meiji Restoration[1]
The following history was written by Yuko Fukatsu-Fukuok[1].
Yuzen-dyeing became the fashion at the end of the 17th Century in Japan. Yuzen-dyeing, a paste resist-dyeing technique, was used to create freehand designs with multiple colors, resulting in large pictorial images, unburdened by the repetitive patterns that characterize most textile techniques. This technique, now called hon-yuzen, which literally means “true yuzen” or “original yuzen” revolutionized kosode decoration in the 18th Century. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the design and technique of yuzen dramatically changed, and created a new fashion, not only among the wealthy, but also among middle class women. Behind this evolution stood significant influences of Western textile technology, as well as changes of the social system of Japan. In this paper, Yuko Fukatsu-Fukuok will explore how the introduction of synthetic dyes to Japan influenced hon-yuzen techniques and designs, and how pictorial designs for yuzen created by Japanese artists made a strong impact on kimono decoration in late 19th Century Japan.
The yuzen-dyeing technique was established at the end of the 17th Century and flowered in 18th Century Japanese textile culture. Originally, the term yuzen was derived from the name of a popular fan designer in Kyoto, named Miyazaki Yuzen. Since his designs were very popular, kimono makers and kimono design book publishers designated patterns in his style as the ‘yuzen-pattern’ in kosode. A fashion book, titled Yuzen-hiinagata published in 1688 presented designs in his style such as fan-shaped patterns that were arranged to decorate kosode.
By the end of the 17th Century, the paste resist-dyeing technique that we now call yuzen-dyeing was established. Yuzen-patterns were associated with the technique, and this fashion for pictorial kosode lasted for about ten years. During this period the paste resist-dyeing technique started being called yuzen-dyeing. Around 1692, yuzen-style patterns went out of fashion; nonetheless the technique itself survived and is called yuzen-dyeing to the present day.
Traditional yuzen-dyeing was a true handcraft that made it possible to create pictorial images and as a result, it was very expensive. It is characterized by very fine outlines called "itome", so that hon-yuzen is also called itome-yuzen to the present day. In order to outline pattern areas, rice starch paste (nori) is squeezed from a cone by hand onto the fabric. The paste contained glutinous rice powder, rice paste, rice bran and lime; however the ratio of the ingredients was a secret of the craftsmen. After a liquid made from beans called gojiru is brushed on, to make the dye penetrate, pattern areas are brush-dyed with various colors to create complex designs. The brush shading technique (bokashi-zome) is often used to achieve subtle gradations in shades of colors. After the patterned area of fabric is further resisted with additional rice starch paste, the background is dyed by brush in a technique called hiki-zome. After steaming to set the dyestuff in the fabric, the fabric is washed in water to get rid of the starch paste. In the final step, the fabric is smoothed with steam in order to adjust the length and width. For additional decoration, embroidery could be applied before the cloth was sewn into a kosode.
In the early 19th Century, yuzen designs became standardized and there was little variety. The typical design in the early 19th Century was called akebono-zome, with a ground color of either dark gray or brown, and the lower part was dyed in a light color patterned with stylized motifs such as flowers, leaves and symbolic designs derived from classic literature, Nō plays, and famous landscapes. This fashion did not change until the invention of a new yuzen-dyeing technique created a new fashion in the 1880s.
Japan made a great effort to catch up to Western technology after its national isolation for over 260 years. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought radical change to the society and people, and also to the textile industry. The Japanese government was strongly interested in modernizing textile technology. The Japanese Chemistry Bureau (Seimikyoku) was founded in Kyoto in 1870, and chemists from Germany and Holland were invited to Japan in the capacity as supervisors. Japanese weavers and dyers were sent to Europe to learn advanced textile technology. Technical books that introduced Western dyeing methods including both natural and synthetic dyes were published one after another.
The declining economy after the Meiji Restoration made it difficult for kimono dealers in Kyoto to produce and sell high quality yuzen. In order to make yuzen kimonos more widely available, labor-saving and cost-cutting methods were necessary, as well as the adoption of Western technology to develop a system of mass production. The introduction of synthetic dyes brought about a renaissance in yuzen-dyeing, making more complex designs possible while decreasing the amount of time needed to create them. New developments in yuzen occurred in both technique and design: for example in the case of technique there was the invention of a new stencil dyeing technique called kata-yuzen, and in the case of design a new development was the collaboration with Japanese artists to design cartoons.
In the kata-yuzen technique, the newly introduced synthetic dyes could be mixed with the starch paste that had formerly been used only for resisting dyes on the fabric; that is, the starch paste containing dyes functioned simultaneously to dye colors and to resist other dyes. When the dyed fabric was steamed, the dye penetrated the fabric and the paste stayed on the fabric. Thus, the paste with dye could be applied to the fabric through stencils, which traditionally had been used for paste-resist dyeing of cloth. This Western influenced technique (utsushi-yuzen) was first used in 1879, on a woolen fabric called mosurin, and resulted in a cost-effective, mass-produced product called mosurin-yuzen.
Although most yuzen-dyers in Kyoto were proud of their craftsmanship and unwilling to adopt new techniques, one pioneer was Hirose Jisuke who attempted to adapt the new technique for wool to silk crêpe, the typical material for yuzen. Hirose set out to adjust the ratio of starch paste and dye, to prevent the running of colors, and to improve the steaming of dyed fabrics. As a result, he invented a method of mixing starch paste with synthetic dye in 1879 and a method of dyeing the background with the same paste in 1881. It was the birth of a new stencil dyeing technique for silk that is called kata-yuzen, today.
In kata-yuzen, the fabric was placed on a long wooden board. Basically, one stencil was needed for each color so that complex patterns with multiple colors needed a number of stencils. Starch paste mixed with synthetic dye was applied by spatula through stencils instead of using a brush. A brush was directly applied on to the fabric through a stencil only for making a color gradation. The background was also dyed with the dye paste instead of using a brush, and then the fabric was steamed. This background dyeing technique (shigoki) featured a very bright synthetic color compared with the colors of the brush dyeing technique (hiki-zome).
The new technique sped up the process of yuzen-dyeing and allowed for precise kimono designs that led to a new fashion among middle class women who could not purchase high quality, hon-yuzen kimonos. Although the dress code was fixed by class in Japanese feudal society during the Edo period. After 1868 women could wear any kimono regardless of the hierarchy. The background dyed in vivid synthetic colors, contrasted with complex pictorial design.
Bridal Party. The groom is dressed in the most formal attire for men; white under kimono, black kimono, five crested haori with white haori cords, hakama of Sendai hira silk, white tabi, and zori with white straps. The bride wears the uchikake robe over the kakeshita kimono. The uchikake pattern of cranes, waves and pines is for felicitous occasions - see The Kimono and Japanese Textile Designs.
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, many Japanese painters lost the patronages of the feudal lords. In addition, their works were considered "old fashioned" and not modern enough for Meiji leaders. At that time, looking for new designs for kimono, a yuzen dealer, Nishimura Sōzaemon, had the idea to request a Japanese artist, Chikudo Kishi, to draw yuzen cartoons. It was around 1875 when painters such as Imao Keinen and Kōno Bairei contributed pictorial drawings for yuzen-patterns. Since then, many Japanese painters of the Shijō-Maruyama school have been associated with yuzen-dyeing processes such as drawing cartoons or underdrawings on fabrics. In the late 19th Century the artists revitalized late Edo-period designs and achieved more realistic patterns on kimonos by way of the new technique of stencil-dyeing with synthetic dyes. Moreover, in the early 20th Century, the new yuzen technique became successfully associated with the new Western artistic style, Art Nouveau, which was introduced into Japan after the International Exposition of 1900 in Paris.
At the end of the 17th Century, the yuzen-dyeing technique would not have developed without fashionable kosode designs by Yuzen. In the late 19th Century, the establishment of a new yuzen-dyeing technique was supported by the introduction of Western textile technology. Then in the early 20th Century, the new yuzen-dyeing technique presented new designs inspired by Art Nouveau. It is clear that development of the yuzen-dyeing technique was always achieved through a series of innovations: the stylish fan designs by Yuzen in the 17th Century, the vivid color of synthetic dyes in the late 19th century, and Art Nouveau designs in the early 20th Century.
The development in the late 19th Century was related to the drastic change of the Japanese social system and culture after the Meiji Restoration. The establishment of kata-yuzen was a result of a synthesis of Japanese craftsmanship and Western technology. The new dyeing technique and vivid synthetic color in late 19th Century kimonos are reflections of the Japanese admiration for Western technology. At the same time, pictorial designs by Japanese artists represent a longing for the traditional culture and lifestyle of the Edo period that Japanese people in the early Meiji period felt in spite of themselves. Containing both old and new cultural aspects, yuzen-dyed kimonos in the late 19th Century are a unique reflection of a changing Japanese society and of people who faced the Western world.
Yuzen Arabesque Patterns[2]
The following are examples of Yuzen Arabesque patterns.
Pattern number 422.
Pattern number 433.
Pattern number 434.
Pattern number 435.
Pattern number 437.
Pattern number 449-451.
Pattern number 459.
Pattern number 462.
Pattern number 463.
Pattern number 464.
References:
[1] Yuko Fukatsu-Fukuok, The Evolution of Yuzen-dyeing Techniques and Designs after the Meiji Restoration, fukaty@aol.com
[2] Textile Design In Japan: Traditional Arabesque, Kamon Yoshimoto, Graphic-sha Publishing Co. Ltd, Tokyo (1977).
[3] The yuzen dyeing method was introduced to Japan from the continent in the 8th century. Tradition has it that hand painted yuzen was first made by the artist Miyazaki Yuzensai of Kyoto. Many colors are used and yuzen dyeing used to dye kimonos in picturesque designs developed with the cultural life of Kyoto townspeople. In modern times craftsmen developed Utsushi-yuzen (tracing) in which a yuzen design is dyed using paper patterns. Yuzen dyeing is used for kimonos, coats and haori (short coats worn with formal kimonos), and these days is produced in the cities of Kyoto and Uji, part of greater Kyoto. Kyo-yuzen dyeing was designated a traditional craft in 1976.
There have been three other posts on this blog spot that have centered on Arabesque Patterns and for your convenience I have listed them below.
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part I)
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part II)
Sarasa Arabesque Patterns (Part III)
Stencil-Dyed Indigo Arabesque Patterns (Part V)
The Evolution of Yuzen-dyeing Techniques and Designs after the Meiji Restoration[1]
The following history was written by Yuko Fukatsu-Fukuok[1].
Yuzen-dyeing became the fashion at the end of the 17th Century in Japan. Yuzen-dyeing, a paste resist-dyeing technique, was used to create freehand designs with multiple colors, resulting in large pictorial images, unburdened by the repetitive patterns that characterize most textile techniques. This technique, now called hon-yuzen, which literally means “true yuzen” or “original yuzen” revolutionized kosode decoration in the 18th Century. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the design and technique of yuzen dramatically changed, and created a new fashion, not only among the wealthy, but also among middle class women. Behind this evolution stood significant influences of Western textile technology, as well as changes of the social system of Japan. In this paper, Yuko Fukatsu-Fukuok will explore how the introduction of synthetic dyes to Japan influenced hon-yuzen techniques and designs, and how pictorial designs for yuzen created by Japanese artists made a strong impact on kimono decoration in late 19th Century Japan.
The yuzen-dyeing technique was established at the end of the 17th Century and flowered in 18th Century Japanese textile culture. Originally, the term yuzen was derived from the name of a popular fan designer in Kyoto, named Miyazaki Yuzen. Since his designs were very popular, kimono makers and kimono design book publishers designated patterns in his style as the ‘yuzen-pattern’ in kosode. A fashion book, titled Yuzen-hiinagata published in 1688 presented designs in his style such as fan-shaped patterns that were arranged to decorate kosode.
By the end of the 17th Century, the paste resist-dyeing technique that we now call yuzen-dyeing was established. Yuzen-patterns were associated with the technique, and this fashion for pictorial kosode lasted for about ten years. During this period the paste resist-dyeing technique started being called yuzen-dyeing. Around 1692, yuzen-style patterns went out of fashion; nonetheless the technique itself survived and is called yuzen-dyeing to the present day.
Traditional yuzen-dyeing was a true handcraft that made it possible to create pictorial images and as a result, it was very expensive. It is characterized by very fine outlines called "itome", so that hon-yuzen is also called itome-yuzen to the present day. In order to outline pattern areas, rice starch paste (nori) is squeezed from a cone by hand onto the fabric. The paste contained glutinous rice powder, rice paste, rice bran and lime; however the ratio of the ingredients was a secret of the craftsmen. After a liquid made from beans called gojiru is brushed on, to make the dye penetrate, pattern areas are brush-dyed with various colors to create complex designs. The brush shading technique (bokashi-zome) is often used to achieve subtle gradations in shades of colors. After the patterned area of fabric is further resisted with additional rice starch paste, the background is dyed by brush in a technique called hiki-zome. After steaming to set the dyestuff in the fabric, the fabric is washed in water to get rid of the starch paste. In the final step, the fabric is smoothed with steam in order to adjust the length and width. For additional decoration, embroidery could be applied before the cloth was sewn into a kosode.
In the early 19th Century, yuzen designs became standardized and there was little variety. The typical design in the early 19th Century was called akebono-zome, with a ground color of either dark gray or brown, and the lower part was dyed in a light color patterned with stylized motifs such as flowers, leaves and symbolic designs derived from classic literature, Nō plays, and famous landscapes. This fashion did not change until the invention of a new yuzen-dyeing technique created a new fashion in the 1880s.
Japan made a great effort to catch up to Western technology after its national isolation for over 260 years. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought radical change to the society and people, and also to the textile industry. The Japanese government was strongly interested in modernizing textile technology. The Japanese Chemistry Bureau (Seimikyoku) was founded in Kyoto in 1870, and chemists from Germany and Holland were invited to Japan in the capacity as supervisors. Japanese weavers and dyers were sent to Europe to learn advanced textile technology. Technical books that introduced Western dyeing methods including both natural and synthetic dyes were published one after another.
The declining economy after the Meiji Restoration made it difficult for kimono dealers in Kyoto to produce and sell high quality yuzen. In order to make yuzen kimonos more widely available, labor-saving and cost-cutting methods were necessary, as well as the adoption of Western technology to develop a system of mass production. The introduction of synthetic dyes brought about a renaissance in yuzen-dyeing, making more complex designs possible while decreasing the amount of time needed to create them. New developments in yuzen occurred in both technique and design: for example in the case of technique there was the invention of a new stencil dyeing technique called kata-yuzen, and in the case of design a new development was the collaboration with Japanese artists to design cartoons.
In the kata-yuzen technique, the newly introduced synthetic dyes could be mixed with the starch paste that had formerly been used only for resisting dyes on the fabric; that is, the starch paste containing dyes functioned simultaneously to dye colors and to resist other dyes. When the dyed fabric was steamed, the dye penetrated the fabric and the paste stayed on the fabric. Thus, the paste with dye could be applied to the fabric through stencils, which traditionally had been used for paste-resist dyeing of cloth. This Western influenced technique (utsushi-yuzen) was first used in 1879, on a woolen fabric called mosurin, and resulted in a cost-effective, mass-produced product called mosurin-yuzen.
Although most yuzen-dyers in Kyoto were proud of their craftsmanship and unwilling to adopt new techniques, one pioneer was Hirose Jisuke who attempted to adapt the new technique for wool to silk crêpe, the typical material for yuzen. Hirose set out to adjust the ratio of starch paste and dye, to prevent the running of colors, and to improve the steaming of dyed fabrics. As a result, he invented a method of mixing starch paste with synthetic dye in 1879 and a method of dyeing the background with the same paste in 1881. It was the birth of a new stencil dyeing technique for silk that is called kata-yuzen, today.
In kata-yuzen, the fabric was placed on a long wooden board. Basically, one stencil was needed for each color so that complex patterns with multiple colors needed a number of stencils. Starch paste mixed with synthetic dye was applied by spatula through stencils instead of using a brush. A brush was directly applied on to the fabric through a stencil only for making a color gradation. The background was also dyed with the dye paste instead of using a brush, and then the fabric was steamed. This background dyeing technique (shigoki) featured a very bright synthetic color compared with the colors of the brush dyeing technique (hiki-zome).
The new technique sped up the process of yuzen-dyeing and allowed for precise kimono designs that led to a new fashion among middle class women who could not purchase high quality, hon-yuzen kimonos. Although the dress code was fixed by class in Japanese feudal society during the Edo period. After 1868 women could wear any kimono regardless of the hierarchy. The background dyed in vivid synthetic colors, contrasted with complex pictorial design.
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, many Japanese painters lost the patronages of the feudal lords. In addition, their works were considered "old fashioned" and not modern enough for Meiji leaders. At that time, looking for new designs for kimono, a yuzen dealer, Nishimura Sōzaemon, had the idea to request a Japanese artist, Chikudo Kishi, to draw yuzen cartoons. It was around 1875 when painters such as Imao Keinen and Kōno Bairei contributed pictorial drawings for yuzen-patterns. Since then, many Japanese painters of the Shijō-Maruyama school have been associated with yuzen-dyeing processes such as drawing cartoons or underdrawings on fabrics. In the late 19th Century the artists revitalized late Edo-period designs and achieved more realistic patterns on kimonos by way of the new technique of stencil-dyeing with synthetic dyes. Moreover, in the early 20th Century, the new yuzen technique became successfully associated with the new Western artistic style, Art Nouveau, which was introduced into Japan after the International Exposition of 1900 in Paris.
At the end of the 17th Century, the yuzen-dyeing technique would not have developed without fashionable kosode designs by Yuzen. In the late 19th Century, the establishment of a new yuzen-dyeing technique was supported by the introduction of Western textile technology. Then in the early 20th Century, the new yuzen-dyeing technique presented new designs inspired by Art Nouveau. It is clear that development of the yuzen-dyeing technique was always achieved through a series of innovations: the stylish fan designs by Yuzen in the 17th Century, the vivid color of synthetic dyes in the late 19th century, and Art Nouveau designs in the early 20th Century.
The development in the late 19th Century was related to the drastic change of the Japanese social system and culture after the Meiji Restoration. The establishment of kata-yuzen was a result of a synthesis of Japanese craftsmanship and Western technology. The new dyeing technique and vivid synthetic color in late 19th Century kimonos are reflections of the Japanese admiration for Western technology. At the same time, pictorial designs by Japanese artists represent a longing for the traditional culture and lifestyle of the Edo period that Japanese people in the early Meiji period felt in spite of themselves. Containing both old and new cultural aspects, yuzen-dyed kimonos in the late 19th Century are a unique reflection of a changing Japanese society and of people who faced the Western world.
Yuzen Arabesque Patterns[2]
The following are examples of Yuzen Arabesque patterns.
References:
[1] Yuko Fukatsu-Fukuok, The Evolution of Yuzen-dyeing Techniques and Designs after the Meiji Restoration, fukaty@aol.com
[2] Textile Design In Japan: Traditional Arabesque, Kamon Yoshimoto, Graphic-sha Publishing Co. Ltd, Tokyo (1977).
[3] The yuzen dyeing method was introduced to Japan from the continent in the 8th century. Tradition has it that hand painted yuzen was first made by the artist Miyazaki Yuzensai of Kyoto. Many colors are used and yuzen dyeing used to dye kimonos in picturesque designs developed with the cultural life of Kyoto townspeople. In modern times craftsmen developed Utsushi-yuzen (tracing) in which a yuzen design is dyed using paper patterns. Yuzen dyeing is used for kimonos, coats and haori (short coats worn with formal kimonos), and these days is produced in the cities of Kyoto and Uji, part of greater Kyoto. Kyo-yuzen dyeing was designated a traditional craft in 1976.
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