A Spectacularly Beautiful Shibori Han Juban: Good Age

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
29 1/2" x 25", 75 cm x 63.5 cm

From time to time we offer pieces of exceptional quality that embody the characteristics of age, strength of design, mastery of technique and overall visual appeal and this shibori textile from old Japan gets high marks in all these categories.

This is a spectacularly beautiful indigo dyed han juban or half under kimono. It is made of hand spun, hand woven cotton which is dyed in the shibori method.

The graphic design of the shibori--the large-scale diagonal lines and the small kumo or spiderwebs--is a striking and impressive. The scale of the shibori design to the size of the han juban is essential to admiring the beauty of this pattern. 

The cotton itself is heavy and tightly woven: being that it is hand woven from hand spun yarns is exactly what you would want to see in an old Japanese folk textile.

The collar is frayed with holes and it is made of old katazome dyed cotton; the reinforcement panel inside the han juban is of the same cloth.

The center seam on the bottom, back of the han juban has come undone in an increment of about 2" or 5 cm, however the overall condition of this garment is good and used. The indigo color is still very rich and velvety.

A rare and extremely beautiful old shibori garment.

Highly recommended.