Page 133 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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Jinbaori with drying nets
Eighteenth century
Wool and other textiles
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3
90x96 (35 /8X37 A)
Maeda Ikutokukai Foundation, Tokyo
• The earliest jinbaori (warrior sur-
coat) introduced in the Muromachi
period were essentially functional.
Wool was a favored material because
of its warmth and ability to keep off
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the rain. This example displays an
adventurous design of fishing nets
hanging up to dry. The image is
worked onto a vivid red wool body,
while a white stylized cloud motif at
the bottom provides a striking per-
spective. The interior is richly lined
with brocaded silk. The owner of this
surcoat, Maeda Harunaga (1745 -1810),
became the lord of Oyama Castle and
governed Kaga, Noto, and Etchû prov-
inces. In 1761 he entered the priest-
hood and was given the name Sen-
shin (Clear Truth).
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Because his elder brother, the lord of
the domain, had no child, Harunaga
returned to the secular world. Taking
the name Riyu, he succeeded his
brother in 1771 and sought to improve
the affairs of the domain by setting
up an education program that
stressed fidelity and frugality. Haru-
naga invited the Confucian scholar
Arai Hakuga to the domain and estab-
lished the Meirindo school of literary
studies and the Keibukan school of
military arts to reinvigorate the con-
cept of "the brush and the sword in
accord" (bunbu no itchi). Harunaga also
died without a direct heir, and he
retired in 1802 in favor of an adopted
son, Narinaga. VH

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