An Indigo Dyed Cotton Sakiori Apron: Bast Warp and Katazome Tie

early twentieth century
20 1/2" x 20 1/2", 52 cm x 52 cm

This is a very good quality indigo dyed cotton sakiori apron which was made using cotton rags as its weft material. Its warp is of bast yarn which is exactly what you want if you are considering quality, age or rusticity in sakiori cloth. 

The origins of sakiori were born when cotton cloth was not widely accessible in Japan. It was an innovative luxury fabric at the time it was widely introduced to the upper strata of Japanese society around the late 18th century. The farmers, fisherman, lumber workers at that time could not afford to buy cotton cloth so they bought rags which they shredded and transformed into yarn. Since cotton was not available to these people nor was cotton yarn or thread, so when weaving their rag yarn they used it as a weft against a bast warp. 

This is why we look at the warp of sakiori to see if it is bast or cotton. If it is a bast warp it is not a true indicator of great age but it could mean the cloth was or rural manufacture--but most importantly the inclusion of a bast warp harkens back to the historical origins of sakiori weaving.

Moreover it is indigo sakiori which is most desirable because, again, of its relationship to original sakiori weaving which was of indigo rag yarn. Indigo tones it also indicate the sakiori cloth might be of good age.

The rather wide tie is made of indigo dyed katazome cotton, probably of hand spun yarns and certainly hand woven.

Aprons were worn all the time in old Japan by all classes of people, especially working people.

Women at home wore them to do housekeeping, men and women farmers and tradesmen wore them, shopkeepers wore them--in the past, aprons or maekake were part of one's daily clothing, and, still, today, many people today in Japan wear aprons on a daily basis.

This one is thickly woven and beautifully colored: the slight wear and faint surface abrasion to this piece adds richness and warmth and enriches our appreciation of it. Or, perhaps more accurately, these features are the cause of our appreciation of it.

It is simple and beautiful and it seems to have captured something of the spirit of the person who wore it. 

Recommended.