A Katagami or Hand Cut Stencil: Two Kanji

early twentieth century
16 3/4"x 10", 42.5 cm x 25.5 cm

A katagami is a hand cut stencil that is used as a guide to apply rice paste to the surface of cloth when dyeing in the katazome method. 

Katagami are made of paper that has been saturated with green persimmon tannin or kaki shibu and then smoked for added durability.

The cut design on this one is of two large, centrally placed kanji or Chinese characters.

The black ink or black dye that is smudged all over the stencil's images is deep and rich in tone and when we flip the stencil over we see the impression of another stencil on this one, indicating the shibugami or persimmon tannin infused paper was used prior to its current state.

This stencil showing the spirited characters is a small gem, a wonderful relic from the past and it is beautiful to look at.

Please note a good deal of loss to the lower right corner of the stencil.