A Length of Blurred Zanshi ori Cotton: Leftover Kasuri Yarns

mid twentieth century
27" x 13 1/2", 68.5 cm x 34 cm

This is a very unusual fragment of indigo dyed cotton cloth that shows what appear to be leftover kasuri warp yarns woven in a free manner so as not to create any sort of pattern of design, but rather to create a blurred or softly abstracted effect.

The cloth was taken from a han juban or undergarment and since these articles of clothing were not going to be seen, often they were fashioned from re-purposed materials.

Encountering this cloth for the first time was almost shocking because there was no visual structure to it at all, and making sense of it would hamper the enjoyment of it. It is very unusual, and very beautiful.