A Pieced Han Juban or Half Under Kimono: Safflower Dye

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
from shoulder to hem x sleeve tip to sleeve tip:
25" x 47", 63.5 cm x 119.5 cm

This is a han juban or a lady's half under kimono. As is quite obvious from the photos shown here this garment was hand stitched from re-purposed cloth.

The bodice is made of hand spun, hand woven, safflower or benibana dyed cotton. As safflower dyed cloth is light fugitive we see a powdery pink effect that is mottled by large areas of fading: safflower fades out to a kind of yellowish tone and we see this evidence here.

The sleeves are probably synthetically dyed and the collar is hand embroidered silk. There are two large patches of grey toned Edo komon silk: Edo komon cloth is a small figured katazome dyed cloth whose pattern is almost imperceptible to the eye due to the tiny scale of the pattern. As can easily be seen in the accompanying photos the Edo komon cloth is damaged.

This garment presents a bold, graphic appearance and its component parts have good age and are all very much in keeping with the authentic clothing worn in old Japan.