A Superbly Patched Boro Hanten: Equally Beautiful Inside and Out

early to mid twentieth century
30" x 48", 76 cm x 122 cm

This boro hanten is a real head turner for all its patches and patterns, and for the fact that it is as beautiful on the outside as on the inside--sounds like a cliche, but it is true.

This is a resist dyed festival or work coat that has been used hard and has been patched with great vigor.  The inside of the coat is patched with resist dyed patches which creates a great deal of visual interest and a bit of artistic cacophony.  This is a beautiful detail and helps to make the jacket the special thing that it is.

On the proper interior of the coat is a lining which is stitched into the collar area.  This lining is a tenugui, a kind of decorative, but very useful, hand towel that is and was ubiquitous in Japan.  This one is an old one as you can see that it was dyed in the chusen method, a traditional technique that used cut stencils and a kind of suction action which pulled dye through many layers of cloth.

The exterior of the coat is just as lovely as its interior.  The big, resist dyed mon or crest on the back is detailed in a faded vermilion color and is just lovely, as are the traces of stitching from the interior of the coat.  The way they break up the blue field of faded indigo cotton is rich.

Please pore over the many detail photos included on this post to get a real sense of the luxury of details and stitching that make this coat the stunning thing that it is.

A real treasure.

Very much recommended.