A Beautifully Patched Han Juban: Rich Katazome Fragments

early twentieth century
24" x 49", 61 cm x 124.5 cm

This is a piece constructed han juban or half-under kimono, which is entirely hand stitched of indigo dyed cottons and shows a lovely pair of stepped sleeves.

The base cloth for this under kimono is a beautifully faded, intricately stencil resist dyed katazome cotton showing a striped design with a flurry of small motifs imposed onto it.  In order to show the hand piecing of this garment, it is shown inside-out.

The han juban is a marvel of good, small indigo dyed katazome pieces which are easy to see on the accompanying detail photographs. The beautiful white-on-blue pieces on the color and the sleeve are notable, especially the small fragment on the proper right sleeve which shows a repeat pattern of bats.

The overall assortment of katazome dyed cotton patches which are all hand stitched to this han juban are wonderful and collectible examples of old--late nineteenth/early twentieth century--examples of traditional katazome dyeing.

A really marvelous garment for its age, for its wonderful execution and for its fabulous assortment of stencil resist dyed figured cloth.

Very recommended.