Chinese Textiles Designs Seen in Treasured Imported Fabrics -

The term meibutsugire (celebrated fabrics) describes a type of dyed and woven fabric brought to Japan from places such as China, from the Kamakura to the early Edo periods. They include fabrics such as kinran (gold brocade), donsu (damask), nishiki (Japanese brocade) and kando (striped or checked textiles), produced during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. These were owned by daimyo or by temples and shrines and were used as mountings for calligraphic works and paintings, and as bags for tea ceremony utensils such as tea caddies and bowls, as well as a variety of other purposes.

In this, the last of four exhibitions which each showcases a different genre of meibutsugire design, we will focus on geometric patterns, including triangles, hexagons, interlocked circles and squares, vertical and horizontal stripes as well as stripes with raised motifs of plum flowers and rabbit roundels. Although large motifs were seldom used in these fabrics, the striped kinran with floral and geometric designs, which is covered almost entirely with shiny gold leaf threads, is a spectacular exception. Other examples of kinran which employ gold threads over a striped base are comparatively less luxuriant, due to the fact that their smaller gold motifs (including stylized plum flowers and rabbit roundels) are overshadowed by the vertical stripes.

In contrast to the brilliance of kinran, the term kando refers to textiles with a stripe or check pattern. Basically plain weave cloth, their designs in various combinations of colors and width of stripes exhibit a sophisticated beauty. An unusual example is Hino Kando, decorated with staggered horizontal bands. We hope you enjoy the simple beauty of geometric patterns and stripes in this selection of fabrics.