A Wonderfully Stitched Sakabukuro: An Island of Concentrated Mending

early to mid twentieth century
31" x 11 3/4", 79 cm x 32.5 cm

Sakabukuro, or sake straining bags, are beautiful boro textiles. Made of cotton saturated with green persimmon tannin, or kaki shibu, which gives the distinctive brown color, this utilitarian textile was used in sake making.

Crude sake, or sake lees, was placed in this bag and pressure was applied to squeeze out and filter the liquid. Repeated use required repeated mendings and we see the wonderfully odd stitches applied for this purpose.  

This wonderful bag shows a long and narrow--but unusually dense area--of stitched mending.  The stitching is something of an island in the middle of this sakabukuro, and looking carefully at it, it appears that the stitched mending is so dense as to appear woven.

Please note another stitched mending on the back, folded seam of the bag, illustrated in the attached detail photographs.

A really wonderful sakabukuro, and one of a high quality and attractiveness that is becoming more and more difficult to find.

Recommended.