Accession Number
2005/1.336

Title
Tatsumura brocade fukuro obi with woven pattern of Central Asian paired ducks

Artist(s)
Tatsumura Silk Studio

Object Creation Date
1960s-1970s

Medium & Support
silk with woven patterns in silk floss, metallic wrapped threads and kinran

Dimensions
159 13/16 in x 12 5/16 in (406 cm x 31.3 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi

Label copy
Tatsumura brocade "fukuro obi" with woven pattern of Central Asian paried ducks
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Tatsumura Textile Company
Obi
Showa period (1926–1989)
1960s–70s
Silk with woven patterns in silk floss, metallic and gold-wrapped threads
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi, 2005/1.336
This red obi with a design of flanking ducks and chrysanthemums was made by the Tatsumura Textile Company, the best-known textile shop in Kyoto’s Nishijin district, the largest obi production district in Japan. The products of the Tatsumura Textile Company are considered enduring classics. In the 1920s, the company’s founder, Tatsumura Heizô (1876–1962), began to research historic woven textiles from Japan and other Asian cultures. He established his reputation by reviving the technologies used to produce important textiles stored in the Imperial Repository (Shôsô-in) of the Nara period (710–794), which included precious Central Asian textiles imported through the Silk Road trade. The textile technique and design used for this red obi are based on these fabrics from Central Asia. According to Iwata Shizuko, of the many obi she owned, this was one of the most useful for formal occasions.
(Wrapped in Silk & Gold Exhibition, Summer 2010)

Subject matter
Tatsumura Silk Studio fukuro obi featuring a Central Asian motif of paired ducks.

Physical Description
Terracotta-colored plain weave silk with woven pattern of paired ducks within lozenge-shaped floral scrolls; brocade done in thick white, light blue, and apricot silk floss; turquoise and purple-metallic-wrapped threads; and kinran (metallic coated paper) in two shades of gold.

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
ducks (birds)
kimonos
obis
pairs