A Pieced Shikimono or Under-Futon: Semamori or Stitched Amulet

**reduced from $185.00**
early twentieth century
63" x 31", 160 cm x 78.5 cm

This is a shikimono which is a kind of sleeping mat, either used to sleep directly on or, perhaps, to lay a futon on top of. 

It is constructed of recycled pieces of an old, cotton kimono and has been reconfigured into its present shape.

There is some nice, white sashiko stitching around the edges of the shikimono and on its vertical seams. 

But it is the fairly large semamori, or stitched amulet, located on the top of the mat that is its salient feature, and an unusual one.

It is very evident that this amulet was stitched onto the finished mat: by looking at the back of the mat we can see the semamori was stitched through. As can be seen, one of the lengths of thread used to form the semamori design is loosely applied and it can be re-configured (by moving it slightly) to a more symmetrical design.

This is a really lovely cloth with a magical energy from old Japan.

Recommended.