A Length of Woven Fiddlehead Fern Fiber: Zenmai ori

early twentieth century
32 1/2" x 14 1/2", 82.5 cm x 37 cm

This is a length of commercially woven cloth whose weft yarns are said to have the fiber from fiddlehead ferns spun into them.

This is a rare type of Japanese cloth: in order for ferns to be eaten after foraging, the fuzzy fibers need to be removed before cooking.  These fibers are coffered and then spun into yarn, in this case cotton, and are then woven as cloth.

The cloth is rather thinly woven and has a papery or stiff feel; the original intended purpose of the cloth is unknown.

The cloth is an interesting and rare example of how traditional Japanese cloth often utilizes the most meager materials, never overlooking the usefulness in something that might appear at first to be disposable or unwanted. This type of weaving was done in Japan's cold and rural Tohoku region and is a fairly recent addition to the Japanese weaving compendium as it seems to have been developed in the early 19th century.

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