Dark blue-ground hitoe (unlined summer kimono) with white geometric pattern made on Amami Ōshima Island, late 19th-early 20th century
Unknown Japaneseexpand_more
Cloth: silk pongee (tsumugi); tate-yoko gasuri (double ikat)expand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; purchase from the Thomas Murray Collectionexpand_more 2019.20.133
Not on Viewexpand_more
Technique: Amami Ōshima Island ikat dye (Ōshima kasuri)
This unlined summer kimono, or hitoe, was made on Amami Ōshima Island, the largest island in the Amami archipelago. Located between Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan, and Okinawa, the island was known for elevating the refinement of traditional kasuri (ikat). Kasuri involves the selective dyeing of threads so that a pattern emerges once they are woven together. The tiny patterning characteristic of Ōshima kasuri was developed after 1868, when dyers adopted graph paper from Europe to plot out their patterns and transfer them to the threads. This example is made of indigo-dyed silk pongee (tsumugi). The diamond-shaped form is based on a kazamōsha, a children’s toy of a handheld windmill, and represents human skills. The square-shaped form is a stylized fisheye (iyunmu) representing nature.
Details
- Title
- Dark blue-ground hitoe (unlined summer kimono) with white geometric pattern made on Amami Ōshima Island
- Role
- Maker
- Accession Number
- 2019.20.133
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murray et al. 2018, pl. 102
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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