A Katagami or Katazome Stencil: Large Kanji with Two Interesting Sides

early twentieth century
15" x 10 1/2", 38 cm x 26.5 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.

This one is shows a large kanji which was probably used to brand items for a store or business. There is ample black pigment still smeared on the surface which is a very nice indication of how it was used.

This one is unusual in the fact that recycled paper was used to create this stencil: by looking at the accompanying photos which illustrate the back of this katagami you can easily see this. It is charming.

The paper used for this katagami is lightweight.