宮崎友禅 | Miyazaki Yuzen as Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin | 1688-1736 | Bijin #10

This post will be slightly different, more of an essay than Bijin post only due to the nature of the difference in thought between Western and European Art. The post endeavours to explore the fluid relationship between Japanese mediums, across different formats and styles of Japanese Fans. Also how the Human Figure came into this crossroads in Japanese Art and Miyazaki's lasting influence on KTC.

Miyazaki (1654-1736) was a prolific fan painter and creator of the Yuzen dying technique. His painting style was immensely popular and featured on a number of Kosode from the Genroku, Hoei, Shotoku and Kyohu periods (1688-1736). Miyazaki's fan designs or Yuzen-zome designs directly onto the surface of Kosode were popular with Kyoto Chonin by 1690.[1][2] This design process is now a staple design motif found on Kimono today. 

Miyazaki's popularised Fan motifs (1717) Nakamura Senya

Fans

The concept of the fan originates in Ancient Egypt 4000 years ago. Eventually these became widespread in China which in turn influenced Japanese fans. The first known use of Japanese fans ( Sensu | Fan | 扇子) comes from 600 CE, being greatly influenced by Chinese flat hand fans at the time made of feathers or paper in a flat oval shape, inspiring Uchiwa fans. In 800 CE, Japan invented the first folding fan, the Akomeogi ( 衵扇 ), named after the courtly attire of Akome ( Cover-over Layer | 袙 ).[3] The oldest existing Hi-ogi dating from 877 CE, which at the time was used by Shinto priests and male courtiers.[7] According to Chinese lore, the Japanese monk Chōnen ( ちょう然/奝然 | 938-1016) offered Hi-ogi ( 20 Hinoki strip folding fans | 桧扇) and 2 Kawahori-ogi ( Paper fans | 蝙蝠扇) to the Song emperor Zhao Jiong (939-997) in 988. In the 10th century, Folding fans were once again taken by Korean envoys to the Chinese to use to pay tribute to the Middle Kingdom. 

By this time, Sokutai and Junihitoe had become the fashionable Wamono dress style in the Japanese court, and Heian women popularised the painted folded fan as Akomeogi by taking the name from their skirts 4th dress layer.[7] Eventually by the late Heian and Kamakura period in Japan, folding fans were regulated by sumptuary legislation much like later Tokugawa sumptuary legislation on fabric imports, until by the 15th century when they became used by the Japanese public.[4][7] During the 1400's, Japan began to export Folding fans due to their popularity on the asian mainland, and presumably further afield with the arrival of Portuguese traders during the Nanbanjin trading period from the 1560's onwards.[6] Edo period (1600-1868) fans were made by one Komin, and decorated on one-side, mass market fans included both sides.[7] By the Meiji period, folding fans were a staple global fashion accessory and the height of European fashion between the Tudor and Victorian periods in the English courts to own one, with a particular resurgence amongst the Victorian middle classes after Japan opened up from Sakoku in the 1860's. In the modern day, it can take up to 87 craftspeople to make a single fan.[7]

The earliest folding fans or Hiogi, were made by combining together 5-20 multiple thin strips of Hinoki wood at 30 cm long called Mokkan ( [orig.] Wood Recording Tablets | 木簡 ) with tightly bound silk string, afixed to a paper background.[4][7] Highly decorative fans included many layers of decoration such as fans made by Komin and adorned with tassels. The flat design was often made by artist for a specific purpose or to reference a literary text for example onto paper and layered onto the wooden sticks. Some fans in the Heian era though were made to convey Waka poetry, as seen in the Tale of Genji, and was regarded as something of a feminine artform. According to legend, the shape was inspired by a Heimin who saw a bat unfurl its wings.[5]

Fans held many uses, including to show taste, send messages to other courtiers, signal warfare in battle, as weapons, toys, decorative art and to engage in court ritual. Shinto priests still use folding fans today in their ceremonies, and many performing arts such as Geisha and Kabuki still use folding fans as part of traditional ritual dances, using ivory, bone, mica, mother of pearl, sandalwood, or tortoise shell.[4] Folding fans are today considered a traditional Japanese handicraft by the goverment, such as the Hyakudate ( 100 Bamboo stick Fan ) made by Aiba of Kyoto, who have made their Uchiwa fans for 300 years.[6]

Figures in Fans

Human figures appeared on Fans in Japan in the same way as they appeared on Screens, Lacquerware and other decorative items, due to the backdrop gargantuan shifting financial geo-social politics of the Edo period, and the Japanese understanding of Art in contrast to its Western Counterpart.

"[A]rt and crafts are one in the same process, unlike in the West when during the Renaissance [Art & Craft] split under secularisation during the Enlightenment period through the rationalism (in the art world, nature) vs empiricism (mechanised) debates into Art (divine works of nature) and the lesser crafts (mechanical and hand labour work) in the Occident."[8]

In the century before Miyazaki, the human figure underwent vast changes in Japanese Art, including being included in public Japanese art full stop. This was mostly down to the fact that Japan went from being a Rice-Economy, to a Currency Economy from 1590-1660. As such, most art in the late Sengoku period was made for wealthy Kyoto Kuge who had different tastes, desires and needs than the Heimin who consumed Bijin-ga in the 1670s would have, the Kuge wanted devout Tosa depictions of good Buddhist figures, the Heimin of the 1590s to feed their children, so very little Azuchi-Momoyami art even carried human figures in them. This came from Classical Buddhist notions of beauty imported from the Asian mainland, which held that portraiture was a vain venture, such as idolatry in some Christian and Muslim traditions.[12] However Bijin-ga can be held to a be a classical Chinese genre begun in the 6th century by Chinese painters depicting women who wrote love poetry.[13]

Back to Japan, between 1598-1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu craftily devises his Stabilisation Policies to bring an end to the Sengoku Jidai, using stability to consolidate control over the patchwork fiefs and warlords of Japan and ensuring its continuation by creating a stable Japanese society and economy. This changed the nature of power structures in Japan. Suddenly, Kyoto was no longer the aspiring culture everybody looked up, but instead, Edo culture was the new rising popular culture. One such policy being Sankin Kotai (1635) which saw warlords uproot to Edo, Ieyasu's new defacto capital for 6 months annually, bringing all their money and retinue with them, which turned Edo from a fishing port into a wealthy city.[11]

Setting the stage for Bijin-ga (1624-1673)

Tagasode Byobu (c.1573-1615) Anonymous

Southern Barbarians Screen (c1600) Kano Naisen

By the 1620's, the warlords had become bored without any Hanazuka ( Nose Mounds | 鼻塚 ) to pile up. So instead, the bored Ronin took to handicrafts, becoming Machi-Eshi, who patronised the new artform Kabuki, and fraternised with the new religion, Christianity. With this, came a shift in the use of the human figure in Japanese art by the Kanei era (1624-1644) from dukkha-vessel to sentient two dimensional being.[14] This came at first in Byobu, with first the Tagasode and then Hikone Byobu, inspired in part by the Kano school's depictions drawn from the wealthy Nanbanjin trades.[9][10] Figures of the 1630s reflected the changing times with the growing middle Chonin classes buying art in which they appeared. Figures then shifted after Sakoku in 1639; as Japan reverted to its pre-contact identity and 'unique' national psyche when it closed its borders; with the Bakufu more keen to promote Wamono than Nanbanjin affairs both to prevent further Kirishitan conversions and to reenergize the domestic Japanese economy. 'Japanese' Beauty in the arts became more valuable than Korean or Portuguese forms, and instead the rise of the conservative Buddhist Tosa figure which used the figure as was found in Yamato-E Fuzokuga became more socially acceptable, in lieu of the flashy Kano school depictions which drew on the Nanbanjin trade for their inspiration.[14]

[14]

Image taken from the Hikone Byobu (c1624-1639) Anonymous

 ta

The Four Earthly Pleasures (c1624-1644) Iwasa Matabei

During the Shoho era (1644-1648), the human figure underwent an appraisal under the guiding hand of Iwasa Matabei, who drawing on the Beauties Genre of Tang Chinese figure painting and the Kano school, but using the Tosa Yamato-E figure as a vehicle, created early Japanese high art using human figures.[14] Matabei's portraiture marked a shift in this appreciation of worldly forms from Buddhist Genre Painting into the figure as High or courtly art, and was depicted on Byobu as such.[13] By the late 1650s, Kakemono depicted early Bijin, prominently in Shikomi-e or images of young half-dressed androgynous figures.[14] It was the push for Japanese Bijin which saw the growth of the pleasure quarters and patronage of these by Chonin and Heimin. In 1666 with the publishing of Asai Ryoi's Ukiyo Monogatari, the Ukiyo genre or worldly pleasures genre mostly enacted by the new Chonin middle classes came into vogue. Ukiyo-e being the brainchild of the Komin-Chonin relationship, producing newly publicly available hedonistic and androgynous Shikomi-e Bijin-ga and later Yakusha-E prints. 

Matsuura Byobu (c.1630-1650) Unknown

Kambun Bijin (1661-1673) Anonymous

BeautyLooking Back (c1672-1686) Hishikawa Moronobu

By the Kambun period, early Bijin-ga as it is known had become an acceptable format to paint the human figure in, as Shikomi-E were deemed Ga ( Refined ) icons of Dancing Artisans (Geisha). Most production done for and by Chonin who increasingly merged High Brow Art (The Iwasa family, Tang China, Tosa, Kano) with Low Brow Content (Vanity Pictures), under the permissive nature of the times ; Shunga had begun to become explicit and was widely read for example.[14] These were simple Kosode which carried usually 2-3 colours max, and were displayed in the S-Shape Silhouette, often holding Mai-Ogi ( Dancers Fans ). The 1670's saw the widespread acceptance of Bijin-ga, extolled by Komin like Hishikawa Moronobu and Sugimura Jihei and their wealthy Chonin patrons who bought and commissioned these prints, paintings and Ogi designs commerating these beauties.

Fans on figures

View of Kyoto (c.1580-1585) Kano Motohide

TLiezi on a Cloud (1590-1599) Kano school

Fans operated themselves in these religious, aesthetical and then within Bijin-ga boundaries as well, as part of GKTC. This mostly reflects the main schools of though derived from Chinese aesthetical traditions, which in Japan were for the most part reflected in the Kano school by painters like Kano Motohide, and Kiyohara Yukinobu who painted human figures on fans in the early 17th century. Related to the huma figure which developed thus:

The religious figure had existed therefore for a longer time than pop culture iconography depicting human figures. This figure accompanied Buddhist texts as a pastime for the monks and writers who created Buddhist scriptures and texts and to allow the reader deeper connection with the subject material by placing human figures in the narrative. Over time, it became acceptable to have human figure Kakemono displayed in wealthy peoples homes as a sign of their devout faith by the early 17th century. [... T]he depiction of Heimin came in with the Tosa School and their Yamato-E Fuzokuga [... and in] Kyoto scenes depicting harmonious scenes of nature, Chinese philosophers and a whole lot of gold were more the Kano aesthetic in this pre-Sankin Kotai world. Pop culture as print media, simply did not have the demand required to profligate the idea of an established common beauty until the 1650s, as all demand was in the hands of the elite who required and expected different outcomes in their commissioned art pieces [of which the majority were E-maki]".[11]

"[After popular culture moved to Edo under] the enforcement of Sankin Kotai a brand new Japanese society with new expectations had formed as younger generations had more leisure time and greater stability than their elders."[11]

This popular culture is similar to Fans becuase fans were originally held by the Kano school to be venerable art objects. They went alongside the development of Bijin-ga as they were considered refined art objects, so from the Kanei-era they added credence to the Refined nature of the Wa Bijin ideal. For Heimin, Yamato-E allowed an 'in' for their presence and worlds to be depicted on fans as socially acceptable, as many Heimin although certainly aware of Confucius if they did well in Terakoya ( Heimin School | 寺子屋), were not themselves Chinese philosophers. The development of fans from the Kano school, who used Classical Chinese lore, may be considered due to the fact that a common motif of the Pining Chinese Beauties was to be found holding a hand fan, such as in Du Fu's (712-770) Ballad of the Beauty.[12][14]

Edo period Terakoya (1844-1848) Issunshi Hanasato

"This meant that classical, conservative and traditional appraoches to how beauty, vanity and inevitable human behaviour were codified to meet social and class structures of their day saw to it that the human figure in early 17th century western Kano depictions, whether on fans, screens or lacquer, were rare."[11]

As such, this was the world of fans which depicted Beauty and Beauties, before 1650. After 1650, fans had begun to made by the lower class Komin, again due to the shift in popular culture from Kyoto to Edo and with it the power of the Samurai-Komin relationship to the Chonin-Komin relationship to dictate popular culture on art.[11] This shift by 1661 was towards the Chonin world of worldly pleasures and we can pair this with the overall development of the Bijin from there directly to the Shikomi-E, which used fans as a way to bring the High Brow, to the Low Brow.[14]

Komin Codifying the Genroku Wamono Bijin

When in the Jokyo and Genroku era (1684-1704) Miyazaki contributed his Yuzen-zome technique, he often did this by painting on a number of fan designs as well, just the paper component though. This was done under the widespread acceptance and proliferation of wholly Komin Wamono that spread due to necessity under Sakoku which celebrated Japanese domestic art manufactures and handicrafts by the 18th century.[15] When Miyazaki began to add fan designs to his Kosode designs, including in his 1688 Yuzen Hinagata book on Kosode design, he popularised the Ogi in both ode to past aesthetical ideals and towards the tolerant and exciting new climate around him which Kosode design was undergoing. Whilst fans in particular had been used before Miyazaki, he popularized the trend for fan designs on Kosode after 1690, which after 1639 had taken on on the overtones of Sakoku necessity to redefine 'Japaneseness' or by undergoing a Wamono reappraisal.[15]

Miyazaki therefore whilst not depicting the Bijin, contributed to Bijin-ga and KTC by creating the clothes which Beauties were seen in. His High-Brow-Low-Brow Harkening was a major component of Komin practice, which realistically was more Yamato-E than the Kuge could ever hope to be in their ivory and gold castles, for they repersented trends felt and worn by the Heimin and Chonin, or commonfolk and townspeople themselves as products of the new Tokugawa Japan.[2][11][14][15] Thus Miyazaki codifies JKTC fashion in a more succinct way, as the Machi-Eshi did in the early 17th century before him, codifying what it meant to be a Wamono Bijin instead of the Chinese derived equivalent pushed by the Kano school, or the Classcial Heian depictions of the Tosa.[14][15] In context therefore, we see how as cultural markers, Komin like Miyazaki Yuzen contributed more to the 'Japaneseness' of the Wamono Bijin, than most courtiers of his time ever did among the masses.

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyazaki_Y%C5%ABzen

[2] See Essay #8

[3] For the Akome Layer see https://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/wayou/index.htm

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_fan#Japanese_hand_fan

[5] https://japan-avenue.com/blogs/japan/japanese-folding-fans-history

[6] https://japanobjects.com/features/japanese-fans

[7] https://becos.tsunagujapan.com/en/kyo-sensu-fans/

[8] See The Artisans in Essay #8

[9] See Essay #9

[10] See 17th century in Appreciation Timeline

[11] See Bijin #8

[12] See The Changing Japanese Figure in Bijin #6

[13] See Bijin #7

[14] See Bijin #1

[15] See Phases of popularity in Essay #9 and Essay #8

Bijin Series Timeline

8th century

- Introduction of Chinese Tang Dynasty clothing (710)

- Sumizuri-e (710)

- Classical Chinese Art ; Zhou Fang (active 766-805) ; Qiyun Bijin

15th century 

- Fuzokuga Painting schools; Kano (1450-1868) and Tosa (1330-1690)

16 century 

- Nanbanjin Art (1550-1630)

- Byobu Screens (1580-1670)

 - End of Sengoku Jidai brings Stabilisation policy (1590-1615)  

17th century  

- Land to Currency based Economy Shift (1601-1655)

- Early Kabuki Culture (1603-1673) ; Yakusha-e or Actor Prints

- Sumptuary legislation in reaction to the wealth of the merchant classes (1604-1685) 

- Regulation of export and imports of foreign trade in silk and cotton (1615-1685)  

Iwasa Matabei (active 1617-1650) ; Yamato-e Bijin  

- Sankin-Kotai (1635-1642) creates mass Urbanisation  

- Popular culture and print media production moves from Kyoto to Edo (1635-1650); Kiyohara Yukinobu (1650-1682) ; Manji Classical Beauty

- Shikomi-e (1650-1670) and Kakemono-e which promote Androgynous Beauties;

 Iwasa Katsushige (active 1650-1673) ; Kojin Bijin

- Mass Urbanisation instigates the rise of Chonin Cottage Industry Printing (1660-1690) ; rise of the Kabunakama Guilds and decline of the Samurai

- Kanazoshi Books (1660-1700); Koshokubon Genre (1659?-1661)

- Shunga (1660-1722); Abuna-e

Kanbun Master/School (active during 1661-1673) ; Maiko Bijin 

- Hinagata Bon (1666 - 1850)

Yoshida Hanbei (active 1664-1689) ; Toned-Down Bijin

- Asobi/Suijin Dress Manuals (1660-1700)

- Ukiyo-e Art (1670-1900)

Hishikawa Moronobu (active 1672-1694) ; Wakashu Bijin

- The transit point from Kosode to modern Kimono (1680); Furisode, Wider Obi 

- The Genroku Osaka Bijin (1680 - 1700) ; Yuezen Hiinakata

Sugimura Jihei (active 1681-1703) ; Technicolour Bijin 

Miyazaki Yuzen (active 1688-1736) ; Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin 

Torii Kiyonobu (active 1688 - 1729) [Coming Soon]

Nishikawa Sukenobu (active 1700-1750) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Ando (active 1700-1736) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Doshin (active 1704-1716) [Coming Soon]

Baioken Eishun (active 1710-1755) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Anchi (active 1714-1716) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Choshun (active 1718-1753) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Issho (active 1718-1780) [Coming Soon]

Nishimura Shigenaga (active 1719-1756) [Coming Soon]

Matsuno Chikanobu (active 1720-1729) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonobu II (active 1725-1760) [Coming Soon]

Kawamata Tsuneyuki (active 1736-1744) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Shunsui (active from 1740-1769) [Coming Soon]

Ishikawa Toyonobu (active 1745-1785) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Settei (active 1753-1787) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1756-1787) [Coming Soon]

Shunsho Katsukawa (active 1760-1793) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyoharu (active 1763-1814) [Coming Soon]

Suzuki Harunobu (active 1764-1770) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1765-1815) [Coming Soon]

Kitao Shigemasa (active 1765-1820) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Utamaro (active 1770-1806) [Coming Soon]

Kubo Shunman (active 1774-1820) [Coming Soon]

Tsutaya Juzaburo (active 1774-1797) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunimasa (active from 1780-1810) [Coming Soon]

Tanehiko Takitei (active 1783-1842) [Coming Soon]

Katsukawa Shuncho (active 1783-1795) [Coming Soon]

Choubunsai Eishi (active 1784-1829) [Coming Soon]

Eishosai Choki (active 1786-1808) [Coming Soon]

Chokosai Eisho (active 1792-1799) [Coming Soon]

Kunimaru Utagawa (active 1794-1829) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyokuni II (active 1794 - 1835) [Coming Soon]

Teisai Hokuba (active 1800-1844) [Coming Soon]

Totoya Hokkei (active 1800-1850) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada Toyokuni III (active 1800-1865) [Coming Soon]

Urakusai Nagahide (active from 1804) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Tsukimaro (active 1804 - 1836)

Kikukawa Eizan (active 1806-1867) [Coming Soon]

Keisai Eisen (active 1808-1848) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (active 1810-1861) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Hiroshige (active 1811-1858) [Coming Soon]

Yanagawa Shigenobu (active 1818-1832) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada II (active 1844-1880) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Kunichika (active 1847-1900) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (active 1850-1892) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Chikanobu (active 1875-1912) [Coming Soon]

Goyo Hashiguchi (active 1899-1921) [Coming Soon]

Yumeji Takehisa (active 1905-1934) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kotondo (active 1915-1976) [Coming Soon]

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西陣織 | Nishijin Ori | Nishijin Silk Weave | Fabrics #9

Nishijin Ori is the fabric woven by weavers originally as a thick silk textile in the area of Nishijin in Western Tokyo which is one of the most common secondhand textiles in Japan today due to its proliferation as a textile. You may most commonly see Nishijin-Ori not on Kimono, but on Wamono as the little gold embellished textiles you see on everything from Kakemono backgrounds, traditional Architectural Embellishments to the modern remake shops which often use old Nishijin-ori Obi to make garments which require stiffer structured textiles such as womens handbags, table runners and curtains.

Nishijin-Ori Fukuro Obi (2009, CC3.0) Ichiro Wada of Ichiroya

The designs of Nishijin-Ori have long been cross-cultural. Nishijin patterns have long been influenced by textiles from other cultures such as China, Europe and the Middle East, just as Sarasa Chintz was with India.[6] You can see this is in Veludo, which Japanese weavers were influenced by circa the 16th century Portuguese Nanban trade in Velvet, which is found in some Edo Nishijin Kimono weaves. Nishijin Ori designs are thus considered to have reached their peak in luxury around the early Edo period therefore.[2] Modern designs often include patterns and designs from all around the world, although Ancient Egypt is often also easily found.

Nishijin Donsu Textile Sample (c1750-1860) Unknown

Nishijin ori is made first having your pattern, as the weft threads need to be dyed before weaving begins, which is called Itozome-Ori (Thread Dyeing | 糸染え). The stretched warp and weft threads overlap, being woven upside down in the Omeshi ( Chirimen thick weave | お召し) style which leaves a bumpy texture, historically on a Takahata loom.[2]  The textile is used to make patterns which make use of dyes in the weaving process, rather than dying afterwards.[1] The threads are very thick, so they last a long time. Around 12 different styles such as Kara-Ori (Chinese Weave | 唐織) and Donsu (Satin Weave | 緞子) have been officially recognised by the Japanese Government as Culturally Important.[3] Nishijin is today made on an automated digital loom. 

Historically, Nishijin has its origins in China, coming to Japan by 499, most likely coming with the Chinese-Korean Hata Clan.[2][4][5] By 794 the Nara court began increasing their demand for silk textiles, leading to more weavers and greater refinements in the establishment of Nishijin-Ori as a Japanese textile used to make Junihitoe.[2][5] In the 14th century, Noh began to become popular with the court. This is also increased the need for silk weavers and the industry branched out into the production of costumes in the Kara-Ori style as well as court garment Kimono.[2] During the Onin War (1467-1477), local workers dispersed to flee the violence of the Western and Eastern factions of Japanese warlords to Sakai. They returned by 1478 to the Western 'Nishijin' fort, then the Western warlord headquarters which is where the name Nishijin comes from. During the 17th century, Nishijin began to be used as a common cloth used for making womens Kimono. In 1872, the Takahata was replaced by the Jacquard loom.[2] Nishijin was recognised as a traditional craft in 1976.[1] A large amount of the industry today is also found in art preservation and textile conservation.

The next fabric series post will be on Benibana Dye and its use as fabric in KTC.

Bibliography

[1] https://www.world.jal.co.jp/world/en/guidetojapan/detail/index.html?spot_code=nishijinori

[2] Begin Japanology : Nishijin-Ori, Peter Barakan, 2009, Season 2, Episode 1, NHK

[3] https://db2.the-noh.com/edic/2018/03/donsu.html

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hata_clan

[5] See Fabric series #3

[6] See Regulation of Foreign Trade (1615-1640) section on Bijin #3 post

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亀甲 | Kikkou | Tortoise Shell | Patterns #6

Kikkou is an interlocking and repeating motif made up of hexagons. It is commonly seen on Mens Kimono and some womens Iromuji. The pattern is said to be representative of longevity and intelligence.[1][2] It is said the top side represents Heaven, the bottom side of a turtle the Earth.[5] Popular variations include the Kikkou Hanabishi (4 Petalled-flower Tortoiseshell) and Bishamon Kikko (3 Leaf Tortoiseshell), both of which are often used to decorate Men's obi. Another less popular variation is the Arare Hikkou (Hailstone Tortoiseshell) which denotes the wish for longevity.[4] 

Kikkou Indigo Sample (2019) CC4.0 by 漱石の猫 

The association between Heaven and Earth and Turtlekind comes from Chinese creation myth which tell of the Turtle Ao ( 鳌 | Rad Turtle Lord Dude) who lived in the Bohai Sea. When Nuwa, the Chinese mother goddess and creator of mankind, repaired the sky to connect Earth to Heaven, she dissaembled Ao and used him as a footstool we'll say in a sort of DIY repair job, or Bi Xi (Half dragon, Half turtle, fully Chinese fursona) who could carry great weights on his back.[7] The Chinese Legend of the Four guardian beasts, specifically the protective Black Tortoise (Xuanwu), stem from the Chinese Han dynasty in 220 AD.[6] Taoist myth also holds that a northern Chinese Princeling, hailed as the incarnation of the Xuanwu wished to renounce his crown and instead became a Taoist priest, eventually in his wisdom becoming divine, ascending to the Heavenly realm and was worshipped as a Northern Chinese deity. Also something about atoning demon snake intestines who become his sidekick mountains.[6] With the influence of the greater Tianchao (天朝 | Celestial) Court, turtles were therefore images of heaven, wisdom and power by the time of the great Tang Dynasty in 626AD at the Xuanwu Gate which celebrated the protective and wise brother killing King Li Shimin.[6] 

Ao being stood on again (c.1720, 2010) CC2.0 David Jackson 

Black Tortoise Guardian (c1279) Quanzhou Museum 

Since the Heian era (794AD) therefore, having being brought over from Western China, turtles and Kikkou began to appear on womens garments in Japan.[3] Adapted from the Black Tortoise of Chinese Myth which when localised, had the Black Tortoise (now Genbu) protecting the capital city of Kyoto instead from the North. Over time, this immortal Minogame ( 蓑亀 | Turtle) who protected Japan presumably, began growing a tail of seaweed. Due to his long life and connection to Heaven, he symbolizes immortality, good luck and protection.[8] Yoshinawa Fuyako (善縄大屋子) of Okinawa, was said to have been bitten by a Minogame, and died. However becuase it was Minogame, instead of dying, he became the immortal offspring of the Turtle Vampires. In the Edo period (1603-1868), the pattern also became pattern and this popularity endures to the present day in the Kikkou pattern as symbol of long life, protection and prosperity, notably in the Urashima Taro.[9]

Bibliography

[1] https://mangadejapan.com/articles/detail/244

[2] https://duendebymadamzozo.com/traditional-japanese-patterns/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

[3] https://kirikomade.com/blogs/our-fabrics/japanese-patterns-1

[4] https://www.susanbriscoe.com/product-page/h-2031-sashiko-panel-arare-kikkou-traditional-pattern

[5] https://www.thejapaneseshop.co.uk/blog/japanese-symbolic-animals-meanings/

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tortoise

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ao_(turtle)

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_turtles#Japan

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urashima_Tar%C5%8D

Social Links

One stop Link shop: https://linktr.ee/Kaguyaschest

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KaguyasChest?ref=seller-platform-mcnav or https://www.instagram.com/kaguyaschest/ or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5APstTPbC9IExwar3ViTZw https://www.pinterest.co.uk/LuckyMangaka/hrh-kit-of-the-suke/ 

朝顔 | Asagao | Morning Glory | Patterns #5

Asagao is a motif, often repeating pattern which can be placed sporadically across Kimono or is sometimes seen adorning a trellis or trailing pattern. Clusters in spots are also popular and most appear on Yukata, as the flower is most popular between July and September in Japan. 'Asagao' crudely translates as 'Morning Face' and is a metaphor for the beauty found in the morning glow of the Bijin, particularly young women.[1] It is thought wise by etiquette standards though that the pattern may be worn only in July and August when the bloom is budding.[2]

Asagao-zu Byōbu (1796-1858) Kiitsu Suzuki

The flower became imported into Japan during the Nara period (710-794AD) by Chinese diplomats to Japan and used for its medicinal properties to treat the runs.[1][2] This is evident by the celebrated nature of Asagao in Chapter 20 of the Genji, which celebrates Princess Asagao, the one Genji didn't get to bone because she tells him to do one, either way Genji turns up at her house and immediately has a harem around him, including Prince Shikibu *wink wink nudge nudge* and some MILFS. Asagao Hime though is like, nah go bone with Shikibu, not me. Genji then "sends her emo poetry" and goes to bed a grumpy umpus. Seeing Asagoas lovely dewlight face in the morning sun, reminded him of the beauty of mornings in her face. Genji then goes off and tries to shags a bunch of MILFs and Murasaki. Then it snows and they all make  snowmen with the servants becuase Snowmen wont make themselves of course.[3] Blah blah ephemerality bleep bleep beauty of transience bloop bloop.

Asagao gained popularity by the 17th century when they began to be grown in greater numbers, when the pattern during this time transferred well into ornamental design and became used on Uchiwa (団扇 | rounded square hand-fans), Tenugui (手拭い | printed hand towels), Combs and Kosode designs.[2] The pattern remains popular today in Yukata particularly being a trend worn often in deep or bright colours by Gyaru in the late 2000's that I remember from Japanese street photography.

Bibliography

[1] https://kokoro-jp.com/culture/2460/

[2] https://int.kateigaho.com/articles/tradition/patterns-19/

[3] https://mostbeautifulgenji.tumblr.com/post/80568794417/chapter-20-the-morning-glory 

Social Links

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清海波 | Seigeiha | (Blue) Sea & Waves | Patterns #4

The Seigeiha pattern is a repeating half moon circular motif of stylised waves. It is worn frequently on Yukata, but can also be found less frequently on some Kimono and Obi more sparingly to my knowledge, and is often used a relief to break up a large empty space in a design as a Ji-monnyou (Ground-pattern).[1] It is said Seigeiha is meant to represent the calming quiet presence and peace found in a still sea scene and the resilience of water, also representing the bringing of wealth and power.[2][3] Yabureseigeiha (Broken waves) incorporates the design by omitting some waves and is popular for Obi designs. Modern designs are now used frequently used on a great varying of surfaces in applied and decorative arts such as the 2019 World Rugby uniform for Japan.[1]

Seigeiha (CC2.0 Filter Forge 2015)

The pattern has been around since the 3rd-6th century on Haniwa (埴輪|Terracotta burial figures) in Gunma prefecture.[2][6] The design itself was originally found on Chinese maps.[6] The motif is popularly associated with the costume of performers who played a part of the Seigeiha programme of Gagaku (雅楽|Traditional East Asian Court Music).[1] The ritualised performance or Bugaku (舞楽|Dancing Gagaku) calls for 2 performers, who wave around their sleeves and swords and is associated with the Momiji-no-Ga (紅葉賀|Autumn Excursion) in the 7th chapter of Murasaki's Genji. Performers wear Hanpi (半臂|Sleeveless Tops) embroiled in peony, Ho (outer robes) emblazened with plovers and the Shitagasane (下襲|Inner Robe) embroidered with the Seigeiha and mists, which here the Hanpi is the bright green, the Ho the orange and the Shitagasane the dark green.[4] I think. 

Seigeiha Bugaku

The Autumn Excursion occurs between Genji's 18th trip around and the year and 19th trip around the sun beginning and ending in autumn. Genji has knocked up the Emperors favourite, Lady Fujitsubo and keeps pestering her until eventually she ignores him. Genji instead spends his time preparing to perform the Bugaku to celebrate his lovechild's arrival and preoccupies his time dancing and admiring Fujitsubo's neice instead. During rehearsals she catches a glimpse behind her reed screen and when their eyes met for but a second, her resolution of ignoring Genji stalled and she sent him a single letter. Fujitsubo gave birth the following February but along with Genji, feels a great guilt when the Emperor remarks how wonderful it is that her son, resembles Genji. Even after this fact though, the waves of love (I know I ruined it but explaning jokes is so funny right \-w-/) continued to wash over Genji and he continued with his Fujitsubo love affair.[5]  From the Heian period onwards it decorated Mo (裳|Junihitoe shirt). This transferred into ceramics, sand gardens, temple layouts and architecture by the Kamakura period and has remained a highly popular Wagara (Japanese traditional pattern) ever since.[6] 

Bibliography

[1] http://project-japan.jp/seigaiha/

[2] https://polinacouture.com/en/the-meaning-of-patterns-on-japanese-fabrics/

[3] https://pen-online.com/design/seigaiha-the-wave-motif-inspiring-contemporary-french-fashion/#:~:text=The%20Seigaiha%20wave%20is%20an,seas%20and%20oceans%20on%20maps.

[4] https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Seigaiha%20(a%20program%20of%20gagaku%20[ancient%20Japanese%20court%20dance%20and%20music]).html

[5] https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/literature/Momiji%20no%20Ga.html

[6] http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/s/seigaiha.htm

Further Links

Linfamy on Gagaku: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzPtzcTEdoI 

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