A Semamori Cho: Album of Hand Stitched Amulets

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
when closed, as shown: 7" x 3 1/4" x 1/2", 17.75 cm x 8.25 cm x 1.25 cm
12 pages, 41 stitched 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 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 twelve double-sided pages containing a total of 41 stitched designs. There is one hand-drawn design and there are also hand-written notes along side some of the semamori.

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

Recommended.