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Japanese, Japan

Nō theater costume (nuihaku), 1750-1800

Description

Maker

Culture

Japanese

Title

Nō theater costume (nuihaku)

Year

1750-1800

Medium

Plain-weave silk with gold leaf, hand-painting, and embroidery

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Techniques

Dimensions

Center back length: 162.6 cm (64 inches)

Place

Japan

Type

Credit

Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

35.470

About

By the 17th century, swords, like armor, had become symbolic objects. This sword—detailed with metal outfittings and adorned with the Sakai family crest of an encircled wood-sorrel blossom—would have been worn for ceremonial occasions and displayed prominently to mark the prestige of its owner.
Mounted in the tachi style, the sword is suspended by prominent appendages on the scabbard, or handle. This example also features a four-lobed guard (tsuba) with a crucifix design that is reminiscent of Christian designs brought in by missionaries during the 16th century.

Japan
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Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Nuance in Nature

February 16 - July 8, 2007

Long-tailed birds, possibly pheasants, embroidered onto the gold-leaf diamond grid are often intended to communicate good luck.

A nuihaku is a Nō theatrical costume type that bears both embroidery and metallic-leaf stenciling as decoration. The short boxlike sleeves classify teh robe as a kosode garment. This robe was once in the collection of the Ikeda family of Bishu, a noble family (daimyo) during the Edo period.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Nō theater costume (nuihaku) with the accession number of 35.470. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.