A Length of Arimatsu Shibori: Double Arashi

early twentieth century
48" x 12 3/4", 122 cm x 32.5 cm

This is a beautiful length of indigo dyed cotton shibori which shows a network of intersecting, indigo dyed diagonal lines that create a kind of moire effect.  

This pattern, or this shibori dyeing process, is referred to as tatsumaki arashi, whereby folded cloth is compressed and fastened around a rope core in order to create this effect, one referred to as arashi or storm.

The fragment is taken from a yukata, an unlined, casual, summer kimono. 

The cloth has a hand woven quality, whether it was or not, and it is in good condition.

This is a really lovely and collectible length of shibori and one that shows an ambitious and desirable pattern which is the result of a complex and difficult-to-achieve technique.

By looking carefully at the detail photos here it appears that the two processes of arashi dyeing show two slightly different tones of indigo: this detail is subtle and almost-imperceptible.

Recommended.