Art Institute of Chicago

Kesa

Japan

Date

18th century, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

Silk and gilt-paper strip; twill weave with secondary binding warps and supplementary patterning wefts, with couched plied silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

During the kesa's early history, the design of the garment was highly codified, based upon the standards and practices of individual sects. But during the Edo period, when Japan essentially closed its borders and artists looked inward for inspiration, innovations were introduced that challenged this rigid tradition. The columns of patches universal to kesas were now occasionally inferred by motifs that created the desired impression, such as lines drawn on the surface of the uncut fabric or, as here, the addition of cording, now incomplete owing to wear.

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