Accession Number
2005/1.332

Title
Beige Nagoya-style obi with landscapes painted by Takizawa Kôyû

Artist(s)
Sensh

Object Creation Date
circa 1940-1960

Medium & Support
dupioni (tamaito) silk with hand-painted landscape design

Dimensions
146 1/16 in x 12 in (371 cm x 30.5 cm);29 15/16 in x 18 1/8 in x 6 5/16 in (76 cm x 46 cm x 16 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi

Label copy
Senshô Ksen (dyeing atelier) and Takizawa Kôyû, collaborative effort
Beige Nagoya-style obi with landscape painted by Takizawa Kôyû
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Nagoya obi
Japan, Showa period (1926–1989)
1930s–50s
Black silk with gold- and silver-wrapped thread
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi, 2005/1.343
Nagoya obi
Japan, Showa period (1926–1989)
1960s
Black silk damask with metallic thread embroidery
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi, 2005/1.330
Takizawa Kôyû
Japan, active 1940–1960
Nagoya obi
Showa period (1926–1989)
circa 1940–60
Tamaito (dupioni) silk with hand-painted landscape design
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi, 2005/1.332
Nagoya obi
Japan, Showa period (1926–1989)
1930s–50s
Silk damask with woven pattern and metallic thread embroidery
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi, 2005/1.331
Obi
Japan, Showa period (1926–1989)
1940s–50s
Silk with Saga brocade appliqués
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi, 2005/1.335
On kimono, Saga brocade appliqués seem almost like delicately painted designs. The poems on the fan-shaped Saga brocades of this pink-grey obi were specially commissioned from a professional calligrapher by Iwata Shizuka; they allude to a long tradition of applying calligraphy directly to kimono during the Edo period (1615–1868).
Because of its origin as a pastime for the ladies-in-waiting of the Nabeshima clan, Saga brocade continues to be practiced today by women of upper-class families. Soon after she married in 1950, Iwata Shizuko took a class to learn the Saga brocade weaving technique. Both she and her mother liked the understated, elegant beauty of Saga brocade.
(Wrapped in Silk & Gold Exhibition, Summer 2010)

Subject matter
Nagoya obi were first produced at the end of the Taisho era, and are simpler than the more formal fukuro and maru obi. A portion of Nagoya obi fabric is folded and stitched in half, making it easier to tie. Senshô Kasen was the dyeing atelier and Takizawa Kôyû is responsible for the hand-painted designs.

Physical Description
Beige dupioni (tamaito) silk with hand-painted landscape designs depicted streams and bridges in wooded mountains. Ground fabric possible dyed with tea.

Primary Object Classification
Costume and Costume Accessories

Primary Object Type
obi

Additional Object Classification(s)
Textile

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
kimonos
landscapes (environments)
obis