ca. mid twentieth century
10 yards x 14", 9 m x 35.5 cm

Zanshi is one of our favorite kinds of country cloth here at Sri.   This is a wonderful opportunity to own a full bolt which was taken straight from the loom.

The warp is cotton and the weft is fed with silk and cotton yarns.  Zanshi is a kind of cloth that is hand woven from the leftovers of various spools; it us usually the weft that is made of leftovers, so the patterning through the bolt is random and unpredictable as the weft is fed from a variety of sources.

With its black and white warp and the saturated colors comprising the weft, this is a boldly colored bolt of hand woven cloth, and one that was probably woven with great aniticaption for use.  Chemical dyes, when introduced into Japan in the late 19th c. were a boon for the Japanese weaver/dyers who were able to create boldly colored cloth is a wide spectrum of colors without depending on the limitations presented by dyeing with botanical dye stuff.

The hand of this cloth is beautifully rustic, and this is offered with recommendations.