Page 76 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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5
Kosode/ragments with fans, leaues, plants,
and abstract shapes mounted on screen

Second quarter of seventeenth
century
Tie-dyeing, silk and metallic thread
embroidery, metallic leaf, and pigment
on parti-colored figured silk satin
3
3
171 x 190 (67 /8 x 74 A)
National Museum of Japanese History,
Chiba, Nomura Collection

• Monochrome figured silk satin (rinzu) 75
was introduced to Japan from China
at the end of the sixteenth century. By
1615 this type of satin was woven in 6 7
the Nishijin district of Kyoto and used Writing box with imperial cart design Writing box with autumn flowers
extensively for kosode production. and grasses
This lustrous, textured fabric is con- Seventeenth century
sidered to have encouraged the devel- Lacquer on wood with makie Seventeenth century
7
I
opment of the Keichó-Kan'ei style. 3.9 x 22.4 x 20.9 (i /2 x 8 /s x 8Y4) Lacquer on wood with makie
Tokyo National Museum 4.6 X 24.5 X 22.5 (l /4X 9 /8X8 /8)
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3
7
The ground of the kosode fragments Important Cultural Property Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
attached to this screen is divided into
color zones of interlocking abstract Illustrated page 30 • This writing box is a remarkable
and recognizable shapes defined by example of the detail that can be
stitch-resist tie-dyeing (nuishime • This writing box (suzuribako) has achieved with the high-relief taka-
shibori) in black, red, and white. Small chamfered edges and corners and is makie lacquer technique. The top is
areas, especially on the fan motifs, decorated in takamafcie, one of three decorated with a design of autumn
have minute tie-dyeing (feanoko shibori), main lacquer techniques used in the flowers and grasses, a popular motif
while the black sections are covered Edo period. The process involved associated with a poem from the
with fine overall patterns of gold leaf building up selected surfaces through eighth-century compilation Man'yóshü
(surihafeu). On the red background a mixture of lacquer and charcoal or (8:1537-8): "Flowers blossoming on
bamboo and bamboo shoots, man- clay dust, then sprinkling various autumn fields, when I count them on
darin orange trees, and floral medal- metals, including gold and silver, my fingers, they number seven. The
lions are embroidered in silk and from a bamboo tube while the lacquer flowers of bush clover, pampas grass,
delicately outlined with gold metallic was still wet. and arrowroot; pink, patrinia, then
thread. Even smaller motifs of a The design on the lid of this box mistflower and morning glory"
mallet, treasure bag, sedge hat, pine, depicts a fine carriage in a landscape (translated by Okada 1995, 68). The
and mandarin orange trees are hand- surrounded by flowing waters. interior scene depicts flying cranes,
painted with pigments on the white Chrysanthemums in the foreground some with pine sprigs clasped in
areas. These applied decorative motifs and middle distance complement the their beaks — a motif often associated
bear equal weight with the parti- stylized chrysanthemum pattern on with winter.
colored ground, characterizing this as the carriage roof. The carriage interior
a design "without ground" (jinashi). is decorated with a beautiful land- The Maeda family of the Kaga domain
(currently Ishikawa
Prefecture) was
The sweeping curve of forms that ex- scape scene. an important daimyo clan, known
tends from the upper-left sleeve to Ox-drawn carriages were used by particularly for its patronage of the
lower-right hem anticipates the com- the nobility during the Heian period arts. The third-generation daimyo,
positional layout of Kanbun-era (794-1185), and the type of convey- Toshitsune, invited the artist Igarashi
kosode (1661 -1673). Beginning then, ance revealed one's status at court. Dóhó to create what is now called
kosode were designed with broader The carriage depicted here, a symbol Kagamafcie-style lacquer. The box seen
unembellished backgrounds, and pat- for Prince Genji's world in Tale of Genji, here is thought to have been made by
terns of metallic foil were replaced is called a Genji cart. The chrysan- Dóhó. NCR
by more abundant use of couched themum motif conformed to seven-
metallic thread embroidery. SST teenth-century tastes at the imperial
court in Kyoto. NCR