A Han Juban or Half Under Kimono: Zanshi Ori Cloth

early twentieth century
shoulder to hem x shoulder to shoulder: 28 1/4" x 24 1/2", 71.5 cm x 62 cm

This garment is known as a han juban or half under kimono and it is hand stitched from hand woven cotton zanshi ori, a kind of cloth that is made of leftover yarns.

Zanshi ori is cloth that is woven from threads either leftover from home production of yarn making, or from broken threads that were purchased from local commercial weavers.  Usually the weft is fed with these random threads while generally the warp is regulated producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen.

In this case we can see that the leftover yarns were taken from kasuri producers: this is evidenced by the fact that occasionally in the random design seen on this garment, patterns seem to coalesce and then vanish, becoming another one somewhere within the field of woven design.

The cotton is of good weight and the zanshi ori is really, really wonderul.

Note a pale blue silk collar and missing sleeves: collars and sleeves were often taken off and reattached according to wear or to the wearer's preference.

Fantastically appealing.