Obi

Accession Number
2013/2.408

Title
Obi

Artist(s)
Japanese

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
20th century

Medium & Support
silk, brocade

Dimensions
12 in x 164 in (30.48 cm x 416.56 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Howard and Patricia Yamaguchi

Subject matter

The large Hachiryoumon, eight-pointed petaled flowers, contain floral, vegetal, and animal motifs while the smaller Hachiryoumon contain stylized floral motifs. The large and small circles are linked with textured interwoven Chinese stylized flower motifs.

This is a Nishijin, Nishiki, and Fukuro obi in Zentsuu gara.

Nishijin-ori textiles were developed in the Nishijin area of Kyoto city and has dominated the production of high-quality woven textiles since the fifteenth century. Nishiki is a type of vibrant silk brocade with vivid and luxurious images using various colorful  and metallic (mainly gold and silver). Nishiki brocade is mainly produced in the Nishijin area of Kyoto. Fukuro Obi is double-layered single sided obi in which two separately woven surfaces and back pieces of cloth are stitched together. This type of obi is typically only worn at weddings or other formal occasions. Gara refers to the orientation, arrangement, and surface area of the patterns and pertains to a specific trend and obi tying style. In the Zentsuu gara type, the obi is entirely covered with designs, patterns, and motifs. The versatility of this patterning allows for a variety of obi tying styles.



 

Physical Description

Orange silk Fukuro (double-sided) obi with interwoven blue and beige floral, vegetal, and animal motif patterning



 

Primary Object Classification
Costume and Costume Accessories

Primary Object Type
obi

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
brocade (textile)
floral patterns
obis
orange colors

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved