Kosode with Small Motifs and Pine Bark Lozenges Bands

The cloth was dyed with stitch-and-bind shibori in horizontal bands of black, red, black, and white, each band being densely filled with small motifs done in embroidery and gold leaf. Rather than being straight lines, the bands have zigzag edges that form “pine-bark lozenges” (matsukawa bishi), where diamond-shaped peaks are bent like lightning. Focusing on the detail, one is amazed at the detailed craftsmanship, such as the weeping cherry branches in rising mist done solely in gold leaf and the nested diamonds embroidered in alternating colors.
The black, red and white dyed division into three colors, the patterned satin-weave silk, and the composition of small motifs done in embroidery and gold leaf all typify the Keichō kosode popular in the early years of the Edo period. Moreover, this kosode was probably produced in the formative years of the Keichō
kosode style, during the Keichō era (1596–1615) itself, since the wide body and narrow sleeve tailoring represents an old style and since the piece retains a geometric composition with horizontal bands, even though the Keichō style is best known for kosode with irregularly shaped dye divisions.
Documents recording early Edo-period customs note that on ceremonial occasions the wives of the military elite wore kosode “without background” (jinashi), where the entire garment was covered with gold leaf. Presumably this piece belongs to that category. It is an heirloom of the Ikeda family of Bizen.