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Orientations | Volume 55 Number 4 | JULY/AUGUST 2024 6 Detail of a fukusa with flowers Japan; Edo (1603–1868) or early Meiji (1868–1912) period, late 18th or 19th century Embroidery, gold thread, ‘fawn spot’ tie-dye (kanoko shibori), and paste-resist dyeing (yūzen) on silk crepe (chirimen); 111 x 109.5 cm Asian Civilisations Museum, Gift of Chris Hall The intersection between fukusa and dress design was particularly pronounced in the late Edo period, as seen in a group of covers from the Hall collection. Their padded and curved borders recall kimono hems and sleeves that weighed the garment down and created a pleasing shape as the robe trailed behind the wearer (Bincsik, 2022, p. 88). Padded edges would have enhanced the drape of the fabric over a gift, while the curved corners elegantly accentuated the contours of falling silk. Other covers feature ‘palace landscape’ (goshodoki) designs, characterized by literary motifs scattered in stylized landscapes, that were otherwise reserved for warrior-class clothing. Some are patterned with costly and labour-intensive kanoko shibori. This technique entails binding small, closely spaced circles with thread so that the fabric resists the dye, creating tiny spots that resemble the dappled coat of a fawn, which can be used to great dramatic effect (figs 5 and 6). Other fashionable techniques used on fukusa include stencil-dyed dots (suri-hitta) and paste-resist dyeing (yūzen), which grew in popularity partly in response to sumptuary regulations. Like clothing, fukusa asserted the identity of their owners and were displays of refinement and decorum. For most of the Edo period, fukusa were unknown outside Japan. This condition changed drastically in the mid-19th century. In 1854, treaties signed between Japan and the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and the Netherlands opened Japan’s ports to increased foreign trade. Large cargoes of Japanese silks, lacquerwares, metalwork, fans, and ceramics arrived on Western shores, and curio stores set up at Japanese ports catered to travellers (McDermott and Pollard, 2012, pp. 8–9). When Meiji rule was established in 1868, the government sought to transform Japan into a modern nation-state on par with Western powers. Unfettered participation in foreign trade and industry was vital to achieving this goal. Initiatives to industrialize Japan introduced new ideas and technologies from the West, revolutionizing textile production. Fukusa and other embroidered silks were some of the first Japanese objects that caught the attention of foreigners (McDermott and Pollard, 2012, p. 14). They were appreciated more for their pictorial and decorative qualities than as objects used in ceremonial exchange. Paintings, photographs, and written records from the late 19th century attest to the display of ornamental textiles like fukusa in European and American interiors and to the widespread admiration of the painterly qualities of Japanese embroidery (fig. 7). For example, the Japanese art enthusiast Edmond de Goncourt remarked that fukusa were ‘paintings, actual silk paintings composed of tiny silk threads embroidered by hand [that] have no match in Europe’ (Goncourt 1898, p. 5). The appeal of fukusa abroad gave Japanese textile merchants and the Meiji government insight 116
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into foreign consumers’ tastes. Expanding on the pictorial qualities of fukusa that had attracted Western audiences, manufacturers created new types of large, elaborate silk hangings and screens known as fine art textiles (bijutsu senshoku). Made for export, they often featured commercially successful subjects like bird and flower, landscape, or famous sites (meisho-e). Rendered with a combination of traditional Japanese and Western perspectives, fine brushwork, and delicate shading, they tapped into Western tastes for Japanese art. Within Japan, the combination of traditional themes and new techniques asserted history while projecting progress. Representing Japan at world fairs and other foreign venues, the style and motifs from these decorative silks increasingly became a national style, both overseas and at home (Sapin, 2004; McDermott, 2010). The Hall collection includes numerous fukusa that would have been admired and collected in the West, as well as new types of fukusa that emerged in this period, such as examples made with cuttingedge weaving and dyeing technologies or imported European cottons (fig. 8). By the early 20th century, fukusa were mostly supplanted by decorative silk panels and screens in the textile trade. Domestically, the use of fukusa declined around World War II. Today, they are still used in parts of Japan for events like weddings and corporate functions. Fukusa may seem like a tradition from the distant past. However, the principles behind them relate closely to how we offer gifts today. We conceal presents with gift bags, wrapping paper, or cloth, tied with lavish ribbons, to instil a sense of propriety 7 ‘The Japanese room in the William H. Vanderbilt House, New York’ (showing a framed fukusa on the wall), from Mr. Vanderbilt’s House and Collection By Edward Strahan (Earl Shinn), 1883–84 Colour plate, part of 4 volumes of illustrations The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 117

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Orientations | Volume 55 Number 4 | JULY/AUGUST 2024

6 Detail of a fukusa with flowers Japan; Edo (1603–1868) or early Meiji (1868–1912) period, late 18th or 19th century Embroidery, gold thread, ‘fawn spot’ tie-dye (kanoko shibori), and paste-resist dyeing (yūzen) on silk crepe (chirimen); 111 x 109.5 cm Asian Civilisations Museum, Gift of Chris Hall

The intersection between fukusa and dress design was particularly pronounced in the late Edo period, as seen in a group of covers from the Hall collection. Their padded and curved borders recall kimono hems and sleeves that weighed the garment down and created a pleasing shape as the robe trailed behind the wearer (Bincsik, 2022, p. 88). Padded edges would have enhanced the drape of the fabric over a gift, while the curved corners elegantly accentuated the contours of falling silk. Other covers feature ‘palace landscape’ (goshodoki) designs, characterized by literary motifs scattered in stylized landscapes, that were otherwise reserved for warrior-class clothing. Some are patterned with costly and labour-intensive kanoko shibori. This technique entails binding small, closely spaced circles with thread so that the fabric resists the dye, creating tiny spots that resemble the dappled coat of a fawn, which can be used to great dramatic effect (figs 5 and 6). Other fashionable techniques used on fukusa include stencil-dyed dots (suri-hitta) and paste-resist dyeing (yūzen), which grew in popularity partly in response to sumptuary regulations. Like clothing, fukusa asserted the identity of their owners and were displays of refinement and decorum.

For most of the Edo period, fukusa were unknown outside Japan. This condition changed drastically in the mid-19th century. In 1854, treaties signed between Japan and the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and the Netherlands opened Japan’s ports to increased foreign trade. Large cargoes of Japanese silks, lacquerwares, metalwork, fans, and ceramics arrived on Western shores, and curio stores set up at Japanese ports catered to travellers (McDermott and Pollard, 2012, pp. 8–9). When Meiji rule was established in 1868, the government sought to transform Japan into a modern nation-state on par with Western powers. Unfettered participation in foreign trade and industry was vital to achieving this goal. Initiatives to industrialize Japan introduced new ideas and technologies from the West, revolutionizing textile production.

Fukusa and other embroidered silks were some of the first Japanese objects that caught the attention of foreigners (McDermott and Pollard, 2012, p. 14). They were appreciated more for their pictorial and decorative qualities than as objects used in ceremonial exchange. Paintings, photographs, and written records from the late 19th century attest to the display of ornamental textiles like fukusa in European and American interiors and to the widespread admiration of the painterly qualities of Japanese embroidery (fig. 7). For example, the Japanese art enthusiast Edmond de Goncourt remarked that fukusa were ‘paintings, actual silk paintings composed of tiny silk threads embroidered by hand [that] have no match in Europe’ (Goncourt 1898, p. 5).

The appeal of fukusa abroad gave Japanese textile merchants and the Meiji government insight

116

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