A Pieced Silk Itajime Dyed Juban: 19th Century Cloth

late nineteenth century
shoulder to hem x sleeve tip to sleeve tip: 55" x 46", 139.5 cm x 117 cm

This is a magnificently designed, executed and colored silk juban which is still in very good condition for its age and material.

A juban is an under-kimono and often they were made from pieces as this one is.

The pieces that constitute most of the garment are crepe silk which are itajime dyed in safflower or benibana which yields an orange color and grey toned katazome silk. 

The design and layout of the pieces is striking and bold as is quite evident from seeing this piece as shown both front and back.

The pattern on the itajime dyed silk is large-scale and interesting: it shows traditional Japanese snowflake images that contain pictures of plum and bamboo, with images of stylized pine radiating from these. The combination of plum, bamboo and pine called shochikubai is a classic, auspicious group that carries great meaning: it is the design triad of bamboo, pine and plum blossoms, which conveys good wishes.  Plum shows courage as its blossoms, the first of the year, burst forth from under ice; the bamboo is resilience since it bends but does not break; the pine is a symbol of long life and also of a faithful marriage as its needles fall in pairs.

The grey areas of silk are dyed with a pattern in a size called chuugata and it shows a repeat design of clustered tsuba or sword hilts.

There is small tear to the shoulder of the proper, left hand top. The garment is lightly padded with old cotton floss.

But this is a really wonderful example of an old, pieced juban and one that has an impressive amount of safflower dyed silk that is still shows very good color.

Recommended.