Japanese

The Japanese art of resist dyeing known as katazome has been practiced since the Genroku era (1688 –1704). Katagami, a stencil made of mulberry (ko¯zo) paper, is integral to this textile printing process. On view in this case are examples illustrating the variety of pattern and line quality the practice of katazome-style printing
makes possible. In order to achieve the various effects, a range of tools is used to punch (do¯gubori), drill (kiribori), or cut (tsukibori) away the paper, which is protected and strengthened by layering the sheets and coating them in a wash of persimmon tannin (shibu). The stencils displayed here all date to the Meiji period
(1868 –1912), the last true period of the katagami before the advent of modern silkscreen printing. An artist’s rendering of what the printed blue-andwhite textile would look like is displayed alongside each stencil.