A Katazome Dyed Han Juban: Medium Figured Cloth

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
27" x 23 1/4", 68.5 cm x 59 cm

This faded and worn sleeveless cotton garment is known as a han juban which is a half under kimono. It once had sleeves which are now taken off.

The pattern is a medium sized repeat known as chuugata which seems to want to mimic kasuri weaving. Overall the garment is faded and there are zones where the fading is quite noticeable, especially on the back of the piece. These areas are shown in the detail photos here.

The han juban would be a nice palette from which to harvest usable cloth for other projects and by doing so you would be sharing in the Japanese tradition of re-purposing cloth.