A Rustic Indigo Dyed Work Coat: Boro Noragi

ca. early to mid twentieth century
36" x 32", 91.5 cm x 81 cm

This boro noragi or work coat made of repurposed, hand loomed and hand dyed cotton is something of classic example of rural noragi.  

The quality of the faded, indigo dyed cotton, the hand stitched, the layers of cloth and the abrasions to the surface of the cloth all add up and make this an archetypal rural Japanese work coat--and a beautiful one, at that.

However, that said, there is a really charming and unusual detail to this scrappy, old coat--the sleeves.

The sleeves are sewn from a fanciful, katazome dyed cotton, the pattern being folding fans and pine needles.  Just charming--and a very amusing foil to the otherwise "serious" tone of this every day coat.  I am sure the owner of this noragi loved the sleeve fabric for its levity of mood.

Its condition is original and as you can see from the abraded surface, the stitching, mending and fading, this coat has been worn hard.

A really lovely example of a Japanese boro noragi.