A Beautifully Rendered Tsutsugaki Panel: Rabbit and Waves
ca. late nineteenth century
84" x 13 1/2", 213.5 cm x 33.5 cm
This is a panel from what appears to have been a re-purposed indigo dyed cotton yogi or sleeping kimono; the yogi was dyed using the free hand resist method called tsutsugaki.
Shown on this narrow, long panel are fragments of beautifully rendered, pale blue rabbits who are scampering over ocean waves. This length is hand stitched from two distinct pieces of hand spun, hand loomed, indigo dyed cotton cloth. The long, dark blue cotton piece on bottom shows one hand-applied patch.
This marvelous looking thing is rife with stories: as the story of how the Japanese rabbit--one of the most desirable of the tsutsugaki design motives--is really strange and complicated, please have a look at our blog here to read the (rather shocking) story at length.
As is very evident from a quick glance at this cloth, the rabbits and waves are beautifully drawn, resisted and detailed, and for those of you who are familiar with tsutsugaki textiles, you know the rabbit is one of the most collectible images.
