Accession Number
2005/1.343

Title
Black Nagoya -style obi with woven design of decorative spools (itomaki)

Artist(s)
Japanese

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1930s-1950s

Medium & Support
black colored silk with gold and silver wrapped thread

Dimensions
134 1/16 in x 12 3/8 in (340.5 cm x 31.5 cm);44 1/2 in (113 cm);52 3/8 in (133 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi

Label copy
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
Black Nagoya-style obi with itomaki

Physical Description
Black plain-weave silk (shusu) with woven designs in turquoise, fuschia, white, apricot, red, pink, and gold- and silver- coated paper (kinran, ginran). Lined with black satin.

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
obis
silk (silkworm material)