A Beautifully Mended Boro Tsunubukuro: Bast Fiber Horn Bag

early twentieth century
35" x 12", 89 cm x 30.5 cm

This is a tsunobukuro, or horn bag, so called because of its distinctive feature of the two points or "horns" at the top of the bag.

This bag is exemplary of "zero waste" as it was fashioned from one length of cloth which was hand sewn on the bias. The result of this construction gives the sack its identifying horn features and the bias construction also allows the bag to swell and accept a good amount of contents.

This particular tsunobukuro is hand stitched from undyed, very rustic, hand plied woven hemp.

It is shown inside-out in order to reveal the beautifully toned and arranged cotton patches which were stitched to the inside of the bag.

Because this bag was used for storage or for hauling and was destined for hard work, it is made of durable, rough hemp cloth which was woven from crude, wiry fibers: you can see that the edges of the horn bits have become ragged from wear.

For the serious collector of  old Japanese of rural cloth, of boro textiles and utilitarian, functional fabrics, this bag is a welcome addition to your collection both for its condition and its type.

It is a very, very good example of a patched, boro tsunobukuro--and a handsome one at that.

Very recommended.