A Lovely Stitched Sakabukuro: Sake Making Filter

ca. mid twentieth century
31" x 9 1/2", 79 cm x 24 cm

Sakabukuro, or sake straining bags, are very collectible boro textiles. Made of cotton saturated with green persimmon tannin, or kaki shibu, which gives the distinctive brown color, this utilitarian textile was used in sake making.

Crude sake, or sake lees, was placed in this bag and pressure was applied to squeeze out and filter the liquid. Repeated use required repeated mendings and we see the wonderfully odd stitches applied for this purpose. 

This wonderful bag shows selectively stitched areas of mending done in thick, white, cotton threads, which are in beautiful contrast to the brown colored base cloth.

A really lovely, good looking sakabukuro.