Preamble
For your convenience I have listed other posts on Japanese textiles on this blogspot:
Discharge Thundercloud
The Basic Kimono Pattern
The Kimono and Japanese Textile Designs
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part I)
Textile Dyeing Patterns of Japan
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part II)
Sarasa Arabesque Patterns (Part III)
Contemporary Japanese Textile Creations
Shibori (Tie-Dying)
History of the Kimono
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part I
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part II
The History of the Obi
Japanese Embroidery (Shishu)
Japanese Dyed Textiles
Aizome (Japanese Indigo Dyeing)
Stencil-Dyed Indigo Arabesque Patterns (Part V)
Japanese Paintings on Silk
Tsutsugaki - Freehand Paste-Resist Dyeing
Street Play in Tokyo
Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile Designs
Japanese Colors and Inks on Paper From the Idemitsu Collection
Yuzen: Multicolored Past-Resist Dyeing - Part 1
Yuzen: Multi-colored Paste-Resist Dyeing - Part II
Introduction[1]
The Japanese kimono, like the clothing of other cultures was woven from vegetable or animal fibers. Today, most kimonos are made from man-made fibers.
Japanese Kimono - Red-floral, made in polyester.
In Japan the main fibers have been hemp and silk. The same is true of China and Korea. In the fifteenth century, the growth of cotton production in China, the techniques of cotton spinning and weaving were introduced to Japan, cotton fabric became widely used throughout the nation. In contrast, the main source of fiber in Europe was flax and wool. The difference is simply a difference of the physical environment of the two regions.
A man's woolen Kimono.
In Japan, the main methods of weaving have been flat weave, satin weave, gauze weaves, and tapestry-style weaves, techniques which are used around the world.
Gauze Weave.
Vegetable dyes have been widely used in Japan, among then indigo and safflower.
These color samples show the wide range of vegetable dyes that can be produced.
In Europe vegetable dyes were also used including indigo and madder. From the seventeenth century, Europeans imported tropical plants from South America and created bright and colourful dyes from them; in the same fashion, the Japanese derived bright colors from plant material that they imported from the jungles of SouthEast Asia and India. Of course today, man-made dyes are used in Europe and Japan, indicating the basic technique of textile production is universal.
There is a cultural difference on how color is perceived in Japan compared to Europe. The Japanese regard color as something that changes with time rather than as an eternal, unchanging entity. The Japanese words for color, such as sakura iro (cherry-blossom color) and momiji iro (maple-leaf color) are broad descriptions instead of a part of a logical color classification (such as the Methuen color classification).
In Japan, some seven to eight shades of indigo are differentiated, from the lightest, kamenozoki (literally meaning a peek in the dye vat) to the deepest, shimbashi. Each of these shade descriptions changes over time.
Today's post will be a quick textile tour of Japan and so the map below points to the major-textile producing areas of Japan. Obviously in this post we cannot travel to all of these places and so we shall concentrate on museums and galleries that hold important textile collections.
Museums and Galleries[1]
The best way to tour the textiles of Japan is to go to their museums and galleries. All those mentioned below have textile collections worth seeing, and their general collections are often of great interest as well. Most museums in Japan are closed on Mondays and over the New Year holidays. In addition, some galleries and museums are closed for a period in the summer. Galleries generally observe weekly and seasonal holidays as well and so it is always a good idea to check on-line with the museums and galleries with respect to their opening and closing hours. At museums, a modest entrance fee is usually charged and special exhibitions are regularly announced in the Japanese and English-language press.
To demonstrate the width and breadth of these museums and galleries holdings, not all the images will be focussed on textiles alone. Today's post will concentrate on Tokyo and its surrounds.
A Textile Tour of Japan[1] - Part I
Tokyo and its Surrounds Vicinity
Bunka Fashion Museum (Japanese: Bunka Gakuen Fukushoku).
3-22-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Tel: (03) 299-2387.
Fabrics, costumes, Noh costumes, and other Japanese Western and Asian fabrics and costumes.
Seven minute walk from the south exit of JR Shinjuku Station, on the Koshu Kaido line.
Crafts Gallery, National Museum of Modern Art (Japanese: Kogei Kan, Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan).
1 Kitanomaru Koen, Chiyoda-kum Tokyo. Tel: (03) 211-7781.
Dyed textiles, porcelain, lacquerware, metalwork.
Eight minute walk from Tozai Line Takebashi Station, toward Hanzomon on Kinokuni Hill.
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Exhibition - Bizen: From Earth and Fire, Exquisite Forms.
Eisei Bunko Museum (Japanese: Eisei Bunko).
1-1-1, Mejiroda, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 941-0850.
The notable collection of the Hosokawa family. Noh costumes, lacquerware, metalwork, and amors.
Fifteen minute walk from the Tozai Line Waseda Station.
Visitors to a "shunga" exhibition look at woodblock prints and paintings at the Eisei-Bunko Museum in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014. The exhibition ended Wednesday, drawing more than 200,000 visitors.
Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Japanese: Nippon Mingeikan).
4-3-33 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 467-4527.
Textiles, kimono, chests (tansu), screens, and pottery.
Near Inokashira Line Komaba Todai-mae Station.
Japan Traditional Craft Center (Japanese: Zenkoku Dentoteki Kogeihin Senta).
Plaza 246 Building, 2 F1., 3-1-1 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 403-2460.
Three minutes walk from the Ginza Subway Line Gaien-mae Station, on Aoyama-dori.
Recent exhibitions have showcased pottery from Gifu, forged blades from Osaka, wooden mosaics from Hakone and various crafts from Okinawa.
National Museum of Japanese History (Japanese: Kokuritsu Rekishi Minzoku Hakubutsukan).
117 Jonai-cho, Sakura-sh, Chiba-ken. Tel: (0434) 86-0123.
Nomura Shojiro collection of kimonos and textiles from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth century, one of the finest in Japan. It consists of 156 kosode robes and over 120 partial robes mounted on screens.
Ten to fifteen-minute walk from the Keisei Line Keiset Sakua Station.
Silk Museum (Japanese: Shiruku Hakubutsukan).
1 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama. Tel: (045) 641-0841/0843.
Original kosode, kimono, Noh costumes, reproductions of costumes, and dolls from the Edo through the Taisho period.
Take a taxi or bus from Sakuragicho Station on either the JR Keihin Took Line or the Toyota Line.
Suntory Museum (Japanese: Suntory Bijutsukan).
Suntory Building, 1-2-3 Moto Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 470-1073.
Important Japanese Textiles.
Five-minute walk from Ginza or Marunouchi Subway Line Akasakamitsuke Station.
A hitoe is an unlined kimono worn in summer.
Date of production: Edo period. Second half of the 19th century.
Dimensions (in cm): L. 173.0, D. (sleeve) 45.0, L. (center-to-sleeve) 64.0
Tokyo National Museum (Japanese: Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan).
13-9, Ueno Koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 822-1111.
Clothes worn by nobility, the military, commoners, and costumes used in popular entertaining.
Ten minutes walk from west exit of the JR Yamanote Line Ueno Station.
Toyama Museum (Japanese: Toyama Kinenkan).
675, Oaza Shironuma, Kawashima-machi, Hiki-gun, Saitamaken. Tel: (0492) 97-0007.
From folk textiles to tsujigahana, and examples of weaving and dyeing from India, Indonesia, Iran, and other countries.
Take the Tobu Tojo Line to Kawagoe Station, and leave from the east exit. Take the Okegawa-yuki bus to Ushigayado bus station (about twenty to twenty-five minutes), or catch a taxi.
Girls dolls.
Reference:
[1] S. Yang, and R.M. Narasin, Textile Art of Japan, Shufunotomo, Tokyo (1989).
For your convenience I have listed other posts on Japanese textiles on this blogspot:
Discharge Thundercloud
The Basic Kimono Pattern
The Kimono and Japanese Textile Designs
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part I)
Textile Dyeing Patterns of Japan
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns (Part II)
Sarasa Arabesque Patterns (Part III)
Contemporary Japanese Textile Creations
Shibori (Tie-Dying)
History of the Kimono
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part I
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part II
The History of the Obi
Japanese Embroidery (Shishu)
Japanese Dyed Textiles
Aizome (Japanese Indigo Dyeing)
Stencil-Dyed Indigo Arabesque Patterns (Part V)
Japanese Paintings on Silk
Tsutsugaki - Freehand Paste-Resist Dyeing
Street Play in Tokyo
Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile Designs
Japanese Colors and Inks on Paper From the Idemitsu Collection
Yuzen: Multicolored Past-Resist Dyeing - Part 1
Yuzen: Multi-colored Paste-Resist Dyeing - Part II
Introduction[1]
The Japanese kimono, like the clothing of other cultures was woven from vegetable or animal fibers. Today, most kimonos are made from man-made fibers.
In Japan the main fibers have been hemp and silk. The same is true of China and Korea. In the fifteenth century, the growth of cotton production in China, the techniques of cotton spinning and weaving were introduced to Japan, cotton fabric became widely used throughout the nation. In contrast, the main source of fiber in Europe was flax and wool. The difference is simply a difference of the physical environment of the two regions.
In Japan, the main methods of weaving have been flat weave, satin weave, gauze weaves, and tapestry-style weaves, techniques which are used around the world.
Vegetable dyes have been widely used in Japan, among then indigo and safflower.
In Europe vegetable dyes were also used including indigo and madder. From the seventeenth century, Europeans imported tropical plants from South America and created bright and colourful dyes from them; in the same fashion, the Japanese derived bright colors from plant material that they imported from the jungles of SouthEast Asia and India. Of course today, man-made dyes are used in Europe and Japan, indicating the basic technique of textile production is universal.
There is a cultural difference on how color is perceived in Japan compared to Europe. The Japanese regard color as something that changes with time rather than as an eternal, unchanging entity. The Japanese words for color, such as sakura iro (cherry-blossom color) and momiji iro (maple-leaf color) are broad descriptions instead of a part of a logical color classification (such as the Methuen color classification).
In Japan, some seven to eight shades of indigo are differentiated, from the lightest, kamenozoki (literally meaning a peek in the dye vat) to the deepest, shimbashi. Each of these shade descriptions changes over time.
Today's post will be a quick textile tour of Japan and so the map below points to the major-textile producing areas of Japan. Obviously in this post we cannot travel to all of these places and so we shall concentrate on museums and galleries that hold important textile collections.
Museums and Galleries[1]
The best way to tour the textiles of Japan is to go to their museums and galleries. All those mentioned below have textile collections worth seeing, and their general collections are often of great interest as well. Most museums in Japan are closed on Mondays and over the New Year holidays. In addition, some galleries and museums are closed for a period in the summer. Galleries generally observe weekly and seasonal holidays as well and so it is always a good idea to check on-line with the museums and galleries with respect to their opening and closing hours. At museums, a modest entrance fee is usually charged and special exhibitions are regularly announced in the Japanese and English-language press.
To demonstrate the width and breadth of these museums and galleries holdings, not all the images will be focussed on textiles alone. Today's post will concentrate on Tokyo and its surrounds.
A Textile Tour of Japan[1] - Part I
Tokyo and its Surrounds Vicinity
Bunka Fashion Museum (Japanese: Bunka Gakuen Fukushoku).
3-22-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Tel: (03) 299-2387.
Fabrics, costumes, Noh costumes, and other Japanese Western and Asian fabrics and costumes.
Seven minute walk from the south exit of JR Shinjuku Station, on the Koshu Kaido line.
Crafts Gallery, National Museum of Modern Art (Japanese: Kogei Kan, Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan).
1 Kitanomaru Koen, Chiyoda-kum Tokyo. Tel: (03) 211-7781.
Dyed textiles, porcelain, lacquerware, metalwork.
Eight minute walk from Tozai Line Takebashi Station, toward Hanzomon on Kinokuni Hill.
Eisei Bunko Museum (Japanese: Eisei Bunko).
1-1-1, Mejiroda, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 941-0850.
The notable collection of the Hosokawa family. Noh costumes, lacquerware, metalwork, and amors.
Fifteen minute walk from the Tozai Line Waseda Station.
Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Japanese: Nippon Mingeikan).
4-3-33 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 467-4527.
Textiles, kimono, chests (tansu), screens, and pottery.
Near Inokashira Line Komaba Todai-mae Station.
Japan Traditional Craft Center (Japanese: Zenkoku Dentoteki Kogeihin Senta).
Plaza 246 Building, 2 F1., 3-1-1 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 403-2460.
Three minutes walk from the Ginza Subway Line Gaien-mae Station, on Aoyama-dori.
National Museum of Japanese History (Japanese: Kokuritsu Rekishi Minzoku Hakubutsukan).
117 Jonai-cho, Sakura-sh, Chiba-ken. Tel: (0434) 86-0123.
Nomura Shojiro collection of kimonos and textiles from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth century, one of the finest in Japan. It consists of 156 kosode robes and over 120 partial robes mounted on screens.
Ten to fifteen-minute walk from the Keisei Line Keiset Sakua Station.
Silk Museum (Japanese: Shiruku Hakubutsukan).
1 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama. Tel: (045) 641-0841/0843.
Original kosode, kimono, Noh costumes, reproductions of costumes, and dolls from the Edo through the Taisho period.
Take a taxi or bus from Sakuragicho Station on either the JR Keihin Took Line or the Toyota Line.
Suntory Museum (Japanese: Suntory Bijutsukan).
Suntory Building, 1-2-3 Moto Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 470-1073.
Important Japanese Textiles.
Five-minute walk from Ginza or Marunouchi Subway Line Akasakamitsuke Station.
Date of production: Edo period. Second half of the 19th century.
Dimensions (in cm): L. 173.0, D. (sleeve) 45.0, L. (center-to-sleeve) 64.0
Tokyo National Museum (Japanese: Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan).
13-9, Ueno Koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo. Tel: (03) 822-1111.
Clothes worn by nobility, the military, commoners, and costumes used in popular entertaining.
Ten minutes walk from west exit of the JR Yamanote Line Ueno Station.
Toyama Museum (Japanese: Toyama Kinenkan).
675, Oaza Shironuma, Kawashima-machi, Hiki-gun, Saitamaken. Tel: (0492) 97-0007.
From folk textiles to tsujigahana, and examples of weaving and dyeing from India, Indonesia, Iran, and other countries.
Take the Tobu Tojo Line to Kawagoe Station, and leave from the east exit. Take the Okegawa-yuki bus to Ushigayado bus station (about twenty to twenty-five minutes), or catch a taxi.
Reference:
[1] S. Yang, and R.M. Narasin, Textile Art of Japan, Shufunotomo, Tokyo (1989).
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