A Small Komebukuro: Bright Colors
ca. mid twentieth century
6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 6 1/2", 16.5 cm x 16.5 cm x 16.5 cm
This small, drawstring bag--hand stitched from a combination of hand loomed and commercially produced cottons--is referred to as a komebukuro.
Komebukuro, also called rice bags, were sewn from scraps of cloth, usually configured in an interesting pattern and often made from a variety of contrasting pieces of cloth. Bags such as this were brought out during festival times; a token amount of dried rice or beans would be placed in this bag and offered to the temple or shrine.
This one is especially nice and eye-catching due to its 20+ pieces of cotton which are placed on the bias. A wonderful detail of this bag is the small piece of Narumi kongata--a very complex stencil dyed cloth that mimics shibori--is used on the bottom of the bag, and can be seen at "10 o'clock" on the detail photo which shows the bottom of the bag.
Just lovely, and in good condition.