Kosode with design of red and white plum blossoms and streams Paste-resist dyeing (Yuzen) on deep green silk crepe (chirimen)
This kosode is believed to have been produced around 1715. Fashion at the end of the 17th century not only benefited from improvements in design and dyeing techniques but also from the development of wide sashes (obi). This caused significant changes in kosode design. The obi was used to separate the kosode design composition into upper and lower halves, with the colors and patterns used above the waist differing from those used below.
This work depicts dynamic waterfalls in the lower half. The upper half is decorated with a fan-shaped window, snow crystal and pine-bark inspired diamond with plum trees. The two halves of the work are coordinated using the common theme of the plum flower. A strong impact is created with the depiction of the plum flower in contrasting colors of red and white, which complement the ground color of deep green. Yet the large, white areas in the upper half soften the intensity of the colors. Pine-bark inspired diamond patterns incorporating fans and snow crystals and diamonds came into fashion from around 1687. It seems that this work was not only designed to create uniquely shaped motifs but also to create an area devoid of patterns, thereby lending serenity to the whole.
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Kosode with design of red and white plum blossoms and streams
Paste-resist dyeing (Yuzen) on deep green silk crepe (chirimen)
c. 1715 (Mid-Edo period) Heirloom of the Maeda Family, Kanazawa
