ca. late nineteenth, early twentieth century
31" x 48", 78.5 cm x 122 cm

This beauty is a bit mysterious.  It is very odd that a reinforcement be sewn to the back of a garment as this one is, on an angle.  This shibori "diamond" makes this piece distinctive--as does the cloth to which it is sewn, which is not cotton, but appears to be a mixture of home spun silk (tsumugi) and cotton.

These two details show that this noragi or work coat, is certainly the product of home manufacture and no doubt belonged to a country person who was self sufficient and created all their utilitarian items for themselves.

Note the "shibori" details on the front of the piece--VERY rustically done and the spareness of the pattern indicates that this noragi comes from the Tohoku region of Japan, one of the most remote and most rural areas of the country.

This noragi is just beautiful and very unusual--and comes very recommended.