ca. mid twentieth century
33" x 24", 84 cm x 61 cm

This is a pair of momohiki, a kind of traditional, Japanese work trousers: what is unusual about them is that they are made of hand spun, hand woven, indigo dyed katazome cloth which seems to date from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. 

What is further unusual about them is that the precious cloth used to create these trousers is of a very collectible kind of katazome, which is jishiro, or "white ground" katazome where there is a blue pattern on a white ground.

What is even more unusual about these trousers is that they are not hand sewn, but machine stitched, which means that at some point in the 20th century, someone decided to make themselves a much-needed pair of trouser and decided to use a machine instead of sewing by hand.  Even the patches and repairs are machine stitched.

The cloth that is used to make these trousers is really fine and beautifully dyed: most likely the original use for the cloth used to fashion these momohiki was used for bedding.  The karakusa or trailing vine motif that decorates this cloth is typical of what was used on futon covers in old Japan.

Momohiki are a form of Japanese work trousers of which there are several.  These are wrapped around the waist in a certain way, for modesty's sake--see here--while at the same time allowing for enough range of motion for the farmer to do his or her work.

For those who dare, these trousers are still wearable, but for those who have more of a collector's eye, these are wonderful momhiki to add to your collection.

Just fabulous.