Vintage Japanese Kimono Fabrics by Pieces: Japanese Textile Fabric Swatches

8114: 1970s Japanese Silk Ohshima Tsumugi, Complex Hishi Pattern,Grid,59in. AraiHari

8114: 59in. 1970s Ohshima Tsumugi silk, geometric patterned textile featuring navy blue and light blue geometric diamond motifs with stylized floral or medallion shapes in pale blue and small red centers.

1970s Arai-Hari (Cleaned) Distinctive Japanese Textiles:

Catalog# 8114:

Black, Grays Ohshima Tsumugi (pongee) Silk Fabric
Classic Hishi Motifs: Complex Traditional Geometric Patterns
Chrysanthemums, Sayagata Diamond-Shapes Interlocked (Hishi)

Width: 14.5 inches / 36.83 cm
Length: 59 inches / 149.86 cm

US$20.00 per piece
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Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: Pieces received from a traditional Japanese kimono cleaner/reconstructor called Arai-Hari -- see an excellent explanation of traditional Arai Hari by textile expert John Marshall,by clicking HERE;

For an excellent 'how-to' do Arai-Hari oneself, we highly recommend Kae Warnock's Blog, Chocolate Factotum:

Fabric Description Details:

This silk piece is lightweight, classic Hishi Motifs: Traditional Patterns Ohshima Tsumugi fabric; background is black-indigo with full fabric patterns interwoven in mostly dark blue-gray with muted whites forming the designs; This is a high end Ohshima, using the Imperial flower (Kiku, Chrysanthemums) with large-scale interlocked diamonds as a grid Hishi; within the diamond shapes are various patterns, all with historical meanings, including tortoise shell (kikko), pine bark and various geometric elements; in the black-indigo spaces are undulating lines indicating water flow/stream; The chrysanthemums have burgundy-red centers.

Colors: Please use our text color descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric, taking into account differences in contrast and color on various devices.

BACKGROUND JAPANESE TEXTILES CULTURAL NOTES:

Various types of older Ohshima Tsumugi silk involve tsumugi using mud, indigo, and grass or plants in the dyeing process.

To learn about the older Ohshima textiles, there are details on that aspect of Japan's special pongee silk-making process which can be found on the National Foundation for Promoting the National Costume of Japan website. The site explains the natural plant dyes and mud etc. used in making older (1960s and earlier) Ohshima Tsumugi silks, quoted here:

Characteristics: A plain woven silk fabric with pre-dyed scoured threads both for warp and weft. The color is refined and calm and the fabric is soft and difficult to wrinkle. Threads are dyed with plant dyes such as "Techiki" (Raphilolepis umbellata) and indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) with a technique, peculiar only to "Oshima Tsumugi," called "Ori Jime." As a variety, an additional treatment is applied to the dyed thread by dipping them in muddy water. It is "Doro(mud) Zome(dyeing)." There are several kinds of "Oshima Tsumugi":"Doro Oshima," "Ai(indigo) Oshima," "Doro Ai Oshima," "Iro(color) Oshima" and "Natsu(summer) Oshima."