SKU:CHY926-A65
These
wonderfully decorative patterns on paper, known as Chiyogami, are
silkscreened onto machine made sheets of mixed kozo and sulphite. They
are more popularly known as Yuzen in the United States.
Originally,
Chiyogami designs were developed in the Edo period as woodblock prints
by papermakers during the farming season for use as accessories in the
house to enliven the interiors. They were based on the bright kimono
textiles which the papermakers from the countryside saw on the
fashionable wealthier ladies in the larger cities, especially in Kyoto,
where the area known as Yuzen had become famous for its sophisticated
techniques for dyeing cloth.
Chiyogami
was meant to be cut into pieces and made into paper dolls or pasted on
tea tins or small paper boxes; still today the scale of the patterns is
reminiscent of these early uses. And still many of the symbols depicted
hearken back to auspicious occasions when fancy kimonos would be worn:
cranes for long life; bamboo for flexibility; plum blossoms and pine
boughs for beauty and longevity.