A Katazome Stencil: Beautiful Markings

early twentieth century
9 1/2" x 8 1/2", 24 cm x 21.5 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 shows a centrally placed kanji or Chinese character which has been used to guide stenciling of a black tone. The reverse of the stencil shows some very attractive handwriting.

This is a  lovely old katagami with a nice, bold, image and an interesting reverse side.