8115: 1980s Japanese Silk Ohshima Tsumugi, Complex Medallions, Geometric Pattern, Arai-Hari

8115:1980s Japan Ohshima Tsumugi bottom half view woven fabric with a repeating geometric and floral pattern in blue, rust red, and white.

1980s Arai-Hari (Cleaned) Distinctive Japanese Textiles:

Catalog# 8115:

Black & Dark Blue Ohshima Tsumugi (pongee) Silk Fabric
Classic Pixelated Geometric Medallions Motifs

Width: 14.5 inches / 36.83 cm
Length: 62 inches / 157.48 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 Ohshima Tsumugi with hexagonal and rhombic medallions designed fabric; the background is black-indigo with full fabric patterns interwoven in various colors: rusty orange, dark blue, off-whites, gray with muted whites and dark blues forming the designs in pixelated stitch looks; this piece of Ohshima Tsumugi silk uses intricate pixel designs rendered with such a variety of lines and figures ( Please see closeups).

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."