A Page from a Shima cho: One Blank "Page"

1882
9 1/2" x 12 1/2", 24 cm x 32 cm

This is a page from a shima cho; it is actually one leaf or two pages that are opened and laid flat.

Shima cho means, literally, "stripe album." The small, cotton swatches contained within it are usually striped cotton, or some variation on striped cotton.

A shima cho is said to be an album of home weaving that a bride takes from her family home when she marries, leaves her family and begins her life in the home of her new husband's family.  Most likely this is in part true, however it is more likely that a shima cho has a broader beginning and a less prosaic life.  It is not unthinkable that a sliver of a neighbor's weaving found its way into a shima cho, or some such thing.

This leaf from a shima cho is made from recycled, used paper  and only one of its two sides shows cloth fragments. Its reverse side shows a good amount of hand writing with three large, prominent characters dominating the right hand side of the page.

Beautiful.