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Unknown Maker, Japanese

Nō Theater Costume (Kariginu)
Now On View

Maker

Unknown Maker, Japanese

Culture

Japanese

Title

Nō Theater Costume (Kariginu)

Year

ca. 1775–1825

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

silk, paper (fiber product), gold leaf

Dimensions

143.5 cm (56 1/2 inches) (center back length)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

35.485

Type

Publications

  • Books

Patterns and Poetry: Nō Robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection

No robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. A beautiful and informative publication on the RISD Museum's collection of costumes for the Japanese No theater. This collection, arguably the finest in the United States, was assembled largely on the spot in Japan during the 1920's by Rhode Islander Lucy Truman Aldrich, sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The 47 robes came to the Museum by gift and bequest from Miss Aldrich herself and represent all categories of No costume. Four essays document the history of the collection, including Miss Aldrich's encounter with Chinese bandits; poetic allusion in the imagery of the robes; the traditional methods of making No robes; and the evolution of No costume over 650 years. Individual entries with color illustrations discuss each of the 47 objects.

Susan Anderson Hay, Curator of Costumes and Textiles, RISD Museum of Art Monica Bethe, Independent Scholar, Japan Helen M. Nagata, former Curator of Asian Art, RISD Museum of Art Iwao Nagasaki, Curator and Scholar at the National Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Exhibition History

Asian Art Galleries
Jun 10, 2014

Label copy

A flock of herons sweeps across a stream flowing amid clusters of reeds in this karaori robe, likely worn by a Nō actor playing the role of a young woman. The shimmering water scene, rendered in gold-leafed paper wefts, was drawn from traditional Japanese painting. The term karaori, meaning “Chinese weave,” originally referred to textiles imported from China. Over time, it came to denote the distinctive style of this richly brocaded Nō costume, which appears embroidered. 

Patterns and Poetry
Noh Robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection
Oct 21, 1994 – Jan 22, 1995

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Japanese
Nō Theater Costume (Kariginu), ca. 1775–1825
Silk twill weave with supplementary discontinuous gold-leafed paper and silk patterning wefts
143.5 cm (56 1/2 inches) (center back length)
Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 35.485

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