A work made of silk and rayon, plain weave with “kabe-ito” wefts; dye extracted through use of a chemical dye stripper, bassen applied in a tie-dye resist method (as used for te-kumo shibori); lined with silk, weft resist-dyed (kasuri), plain weave; stenciled and painted (kata yûzen-zome) and wool, plain weave; stenciled (kata yûzen-zome).

Haori

Meiji (1868–1912)/ Taisho (1912–1926), c. 1916

Japan

The pattern on this haori resembles the design that is produced by using a “spiderweb” shibori technique. However, the pattern was not achieved through shibori but was actually produced by using a discharge-dye technique that was employed in Japan after 1870. The lighter areas were created with an imported oxidizing agent that is applied to the exposed fabric, with the resulting removal of dye creating the pattern. This chemical method, combined with the use of rayon (introduced to Japan around 1916) in the haori, demonstrates how Japan adopted new techniques to achieve traditional designs.

Silk and rayon, plain weave with “kabe-ito” wefts; dye extracted through use of a chemical dye stripper, bassen applied in a tie-dye resist method (as used for te-kumo shibori); lined with silk, weft resist-dyed (kasuri), plain weave; stenciled and painted (kata yûzen-zome) and wool, plain weave; stenciled (kata yûzen-zome)

Textiles