A Shimacho of Many Pages: Home Made Weaving Swatch Book

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
when closed: 6" x 7 1/4" x 1 1/8"

21 pages 

Shimacho means, literally, "stripe album." The small, cotton swatches contained within it are usually striped cotton, or some variation on striped cotton.

A shimacho is said to be an album of home weaving that a bride takes from her family home when she's married, leaves her family and begins her life in the home of her new husband's family.  Most likely this is in part true, however it is more likely that a shimacho has a broader beginning with a less prosaic start.  It is not unthinkable that a sliver of a neighbor's weaving found its way into a shimacho, or some such thing.

Often the striped cloth in a shimacho shows narrow stripes or small checks in dark colors.  

The reason for this is that in old Japan there were sumptuary laws which dictated how a person could dress and how they should conduct other aspects of their lives.  Most of the population was only allowed to wear dark, somber colors and cloth showing very little pattern, if any.  Therefore, shimacho usually reflect this societal dictate by showing scraps of hand woven cotton in dark colors.

This one contains many and lovely pieces of striped and checked hand loomed cotton cloth. The fact that there is evidence of saturated colors due to synthetic dyes on some of these swatches--newly introduced to Japan from Germany in the late 1800s-- indicates the cloth was probably woven around that time.  

This especially voluminous (for shimacho, at least) album is missing its front and back covers and its many pages and almost countless swatches of marvelous looking textiles is simply a joy to behold.

A wonderful thing to own.

Highly recommended.