A Double-Sided Wide Boro Textile: Overdyed Patterned Cloth

mid twentieth century
49 1/2" x 20", 125.5 cm x 51 cm

This boro length is referred to as being "wide" because it is not made of the traditional Japanese cloth which is woven in 13" or 33 cm widths. Instead this is a section of cloth that has been cut into a 20" or 51 cm width.

The base cloth on this playfully patched and mended cloth is commercially produced as can be seen by the texture of the woven cotton and by the pattern that is ghost-like on the cloth.

The brownish color is no doubt the result of the cloth being over dyed in kaki shibu or fermented green persimmon tannin. The left hand area of the cloth is lighter in tone than the body of cloth.

Each side of this boro cloth bears paying attention to: one side shows the nicely arranged patches while the other side shows the attractive stitching used to adhere the stitches to the surface.

The layers of visual interest on this cloth make it alluring and although it no doubt was hand stitched in the mid twentieth century it shows that the Japanese practice of creating home accessories--in this case a futon cover--endured well into the modern era.

Beautiful.