A Precious Semamori Cho: Album of Hand Stitched Amulets

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
closed: 4 1/4" x 3 1/8", 11 cm x 8 cm
21 pages, 43 designs

In Japan, there is a certain magic associated with stitching: the very act of enclosing a body in cloth is rich in meaning and stitching a garment closed has power in it. It is no wonder that stitches applied to children’s garments are done intentionally and that they are meant to protect the child from metaphysical harm.

These protective stitches are called semamori, and offered here today is a semamori cho, or a practice album of decorative stitches that, when stitched on a child’s garment, would have been held in place one of the kimono’s two ties.

In this album there are 21 pages containing a total of 43 stitched designs, each of which is expertly stitched with great precision and assurance. More than likely this was a student's work, and accounts of sewing classes in old Japan paint them to be arduous for the student as excellence was expected of each girl or woman in the class.

Objects such as this are becoming increasingly difficult to find now in Japan and this particular semamori cho is a small treasure. 

Recommended.