Page 357 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

blue in the design was executed in indigo 276 Koshimaki
in chaya-zome resist dyeing; when the dye embroidery on silk
had dried and the resist past had been re- 1.163.3 (63 / )
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moved, the other colors were added with w. 126.0 (49 Vfc)
embroidery. Edo period, igth century
A thatch-roofed house is seen under Tokyo National Museum
pine and blossoming cherry trees on the
right sleeve; below is a salt-evaporating A part of the formal summer attire of
pan in a pine grove; near the bottom are women of the warrior class, the koshimaki,
thatch-roofed houses among pine and literally "waist wrap," was worn over the
cherry trees and fishnets hung to dry. Gen- katabira] it was worn off the shoulders and
tle waves connect these motifs. This shore arms, secured at the waist and loosely
landscape, set against the slightly off-white wrapped around the lower half of the
hemp background, is appropriate for a body. In earlier times the uchikake had
summer robe. It is thought to have been been worn in this fashion in the summer,
worn by a relatively low-ranking woman of and this was called koshimaki sugata (waist
a daimyo household. Fashion dictated the wrap form), but in the Edo period the style
red silk facings at the collar and wrist became formalized and the koshimaki as
openings. KS such was developed. Over a short-sleeved
katabira such as cat. 273, a similarly short-
274 Katabira sleeved koshimaki (cat. 275) would be
chaya-zome and embroidery on hemp worn; if the katabira was of the furisode
1.175.8 (68 1/2) (swinging sleeves, cat. 272) type, a long-
W. 12O.O (46 3/ 4) sleeved koshimaki (cat. 276) would accom-
Edo period, i8th century pany it. In the late Edo period, certain
colors and designs were defined for the
Tokyo National Museum koshimaki\ typically, motifs with auspi-
Like cat. 272, this chayazome katabira is en- cious associations were finely embroidered
tirely covered by an idyllic landscape, in on black or brown plain-weave silk
which rustic villas await the arrival of a (nerinuki).
daimyo household escaping the oppressive On cat. 275 the pine twigs, flowering
urban heat. This too is a fantasy land- plum, and bamboo—the "Three Friends
scape, in which vegetative states of all the of Winter"—connote courage, purity, and
seasons are seen together: cherry blossoms resiliency; the cranes and the tortoises
of spring; iris and cockscomb of summer; (symbolized by the hexagonal "tortoise-
chysanthemums, bellflowers, and maple shell lozenges") connote longevity and pu-
leaves of fall; and the evergreen pines, rity; and the four-sided "coin" motif
symbols of winter. Unlike cat. 272, this enclosing a stylized blossom stands for
landscape is mostly water, and water reeds, prosperity.
water plantain (with arrow-shaped leaves), Cat. 276 offers the instantly recogniz-
and pickerel-weed grow abundantly. The able "myriad treasures" (takara zukushi),
viewpoint is generally closer, and the mo- singly and together the emblems of mate-
tifs slightly larger and more three- rial advantage and good fortune. The
dimensional than in cat. 272. "myriad treasures" assemblage can vary
Chaya dyeing is a lost art—the com- somewhat in its composition; here it
position of the resist paste is no longer seems to include the hat and cape of invis-
known—so it is not possible to replicate ibility, the keys to the storehouse of good
the making of such a katabira. It has been fortune, the flaming wish-granting jewel,
plausibly said, however, that the making of the mallet of good fortune, the drawstring
a chayazome katabira of this quality took money pouch, crossed cloves (alternatively
over two years from the creation of the de- identified as rhinoceros horns, a highly es-
sign, making such garments among the teemed restorative throughout East Asia),
most luxurious dyed textiles of the Edo and the "seven jewels"—this last a cate-
period. KS gory that comprises gold, silver, and a vary-
ing list of gemstones.
The plethora of connotative motifs
275 Koshimaki on the koshimaki seems intended to com-
embroidery on silk pensate for the notable absence of such
1.174.4(68) motifs on the chayazome katabira with
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w. 121.4 (47 / ) which they were worn. KS
Edo period, i8th century
Tokyo National Museum

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