Japanese Textiles at the Mia (Art & Travel) Mpls, MN USA

Creating Textiles to Wear

Textile workers in pre-industrial Japan inherited their professions, skills and tools. Similar to what my sister and I learned from our mother and grandmothers, there is continuity from generation to generation. The end result is a depth of artistic and technical knowledge. Different at that time is that the journey from raw materials to finished product passed through the hands of many specialists.

This woman’s Festival Coat is one of the first items in the exhibit. It is made from fish skin, reindeer sinew with cotton thread, applique and embroidery.

This lined Winter Robe wraps up the show as one of the last items in the exhibit. It is dark blue-ground, cotton with a dog paw print pattern. The yellow-ground lining is a pattern of ivy, chrysanthemum, and bamboo grass, stencil resist with applied pigments.

Jewelry – Ainu women wore necklaces made of glass beads on ceremonial occasions. Fashionable, they also offered the wearer spiritual protection. This neck ornament with medallion is made with glass beads, plant fiber, molded metal, and lacquered wood.

Clothing defines Class

A person’s public identity was largely defined by the class to which one was born in pre-industrial Japan. This determined what one did and where one lived – and the materials one could wear. Edicts reserved silk only for nobility. Cotton, ramie, and other natural fibers were worn by commoners.

Public Festivals

The collective identity of a group was expressed at public festivals. Clothing at special events was emblematic of a shared background and a collective sense of self purpose. A fisherman was part of a community of fishermen. An indigo dyer lived and labored among other indigo dyers. And so on.

Stories to tell…

I love stories. So when an exhibit shared a personal story such as this one, I paid attention!

Rain capes protected residents of northern Japan from heavy rain and snowfall. A man made this fancy rain cape as a gift for his wife to wear with pride to festive occasions. Made of left over rice straw, with cotton for the shoulder piece, he attached a fringe of shredded tree bark strands along the edge.

Pattern & Color…

I enjoy pattern and color; this kimono caught my eye.

This festival kimono would have been worn by a man performing folk dances at Obon festivals to honor the spirits of his ancestors. The focus on family identity and connections to both living and dead relatives is seen in the large family crest on the upper back. The combinations of materials – pine, bamboo and cherry blossoms – identifies that it was a custom order.

Textiles in Daily Life

Patterns! I was intrigued by the variety of patterns and use of both stylized and abstract patterns. Patterns were created by dyers who had developed exceptionally complex and varied techniques.

This Tea Service Mat features a pattern similar to carpet from Central Asia, attainable only by the nobility.

From my experience creating patterns on looms for my weavings, I was intrigued by the intricate binding and knotting, mathematical precision in individually dyed threads used to create a pattern which emerges once they are woven together.

This Warming Table Cover boasts a very unusual whimsical and abstract pattern. it is made of cloth, bottom is patchwork, leftover yarn and indigo dye.

This Wrapping Cloth with circular floral design had one of the most inventive uses – to cover or wrap gifts for ceremonies such as weddings.

Textiles of the Ainu Peoples

The Ainu textiles are the first to be shown in this Mia exhibition. Ainu are native to Japan’s northernmost islands and parts of the Russian Far East.

Elaborate embroidered patterns are featured in the robes. This was meant to please the eye and protect the wearer. They were created by Ainu women for family members as formal attire worn at weddings and religious ceremonies.

Ainu believed that spirit beings coexist with their people and could provide both help and harm. This belief was incorporated into their textiles. Designs were placed in the robes’ openings, in the back, where a person might be most vulnerable. This was believed to repel disease, violence or harmful spirits.

The act of stitching was a physical way for the women creating the robes to invest in prayers and love into the garments. This provided both healing and protection to the wearer.

Photos of the Ainu peoples wearing robes like those displayed added to the experience of the exhibit. It seemed to give life to the robes!

Alchemy of Indigo

Indigo is a deep and vivid blue dye made from plant materials. In rural Japan, it was easily the most preferred color for cotton textiles.

Besides providing color, indigo leaves and seeds had medicinal properties! Believed to help against fever, snakebites and stomach disorders, indigo-dyed work clothes were considered to have a protective effect.

Fascinating Fact: because the dye served to reinforce the fabric and have antibacterial properties, it was popular for undergarments as well. The indigo dyed fabric would lie against sweaty, bare skin and turn the wearer a distinct color of blue! But they were protected!

Indigo is astonishing in the hands of a skilled dyer. It is an elaborate and time consuming process. The dye sits on the surface of cotton fibers. The pigment builds up as the same clothes is repeatedly dyed.

Rich, dense, nearly black blues can be produced. However, indigo-dyed cotton does fade over time with washing and wearing. Well-worn garments tell the stories of their use in the changing blue tones of their surfaces.

Techniques were developed to recycle well-used cloth into new textiles, from the cotton patchwork to the shredded and rewoven textiles.

This patchwork farmer’s short coat is one of the most fun items on display. It was constructed of patched pieces of worn, recycled cotton. Decorative stitching to reinforce the seams is created with the vertical lines.

Textiles & Firefighters

The exhibit about Japanese firefighters was one of the most visually appealing rooms of the exhibit!

During the Edo and Meiji periods (1603-1912) fires were a constant threat to the thousands of people living in the densely populated cities of Tokyo (then Edo) and Osaka.

Fires spread quickly in buildings made of wood, combined with the use of indoor stoves and paper lanterns. Organized firefighting brigades were authorized to fight fires and enforce rules designated to keep them from starting. These men were considered heroes for their valor, strength and loyalty.

Inspiration for the Mia 3D display was this original woodblock print. In Japan, firefighters were lionized as protectors of the city and its residents, and audiences never tired of dramatic portrayal of firefighters and their adventures.

Firefighters in Art

Alongside the firefighters’ robes was colorful and dramatic art extolling their virtues! These were two of my favorites.

Firefighter’s Robe

This firefighter’s robe with special protective emblem on the back serves to introduce one to the exhibit!