A Length of Striped Egasuri: Auspicious Woven Images

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
42" x 13", 106.5 cm x 33 cm

This length of cotton kasuri or ikat cloth is typical of the type made in what used to be called San'in, which is now  present day Tottori Prefecture in western Honshu.   

Often in San'in gasuri you will see images designed as this one is: a striped background against which a weft kasuri pattern is woven.  

The images on this length of San'in gasuri convey good things. They are all iterations of noshi which are dried strips of abalone that are stretched into long, ribbon like strips.  The word noshi is a homonyn for the word “prolong,” so it became customary to include noshi with a gift as a symbol of longevity and prolonged happiness, so noshi is often used for wedding textiles--we can surmise that this length was taken from a textile in a bridal trousseau, probably from a futon cover.

The cloth is in used condition. There is some overall light fading to the piece, the colors are a bit faded and the indigo dye reads more as black than blue.

A very nice length of San'in gasuri cloth.