ca. mid twentieth century
214" x 14", 536 cm x 35.5 cm

This is a very wide and very long sakiori weaving: from the photos attached, which do not provide scale, this may appear to be an obi.  It is too large and wide to be an obi, and is probably a section from a bolt intended to be sewn into a kotatsugake or some other household textile.

The coloration on this piece is bright and searing with some passages that are absolutely kaleidoscopic: quite interestingly, in the mid twentieth century when there was a great abundance of chemical dyed textiles, country folk would recycled the colored cloth and weave what they called karafuru or colorful cloth--and even in some of Japan's most remote and rural regions, brightly colored sakiori was woven at home.

This is an unused length; the weft is primarily--if not wholly--of shredded cottons.  The warp is red and black cotton, alternating in rows.

Pore carefully over the attached photos to see how the weft was fed against the warp and to see the surprising eddies of discordant color that comprise the length of this hand woven, short bolt.

A really wonderful, vintage textile from old Japan.

Very recommended.