MoDA katagami stencils general background notes

MoDAkatagamistencils
generalbackgroundnotes
TheseresearchnoteswerecompiledbyAliceHumphrey(ULITA,Leeds
University),fortheMuseumofDomesticDesignandArchitecture,in
May2014.Theyprovideatechnicalanalysisofthekatagamiin
MODA’scollectionandacomparisonwiththoseheldatULITA.
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ThekatagamicollectionatMoDAconsistsof:stencilsforrepeat
patterningofclothingfabric(abouthalfthecollection):
K2.17
K2.63
Therearealsoanumberoflarger,non-repeatingdesigns(roughly50),
andsquareindividualplantmotifs(approx150).Ithasbeensuggested
thatthesewereproducedfortheWesternmarket:
K8.36
K7.30
Therearealsooffprintsfrommostofthestencils,andsomeoffprints
withoutmatchingstencils.
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Katagamistencilsaremostlyresistprintedusingricepastethroughthe
stencilthendyeingtheclothusuallywithindigothereforeinmany
cases,theoffprintsrepresentthenegativeimageofthefinished
design.Incontemporarypractice,dyesaresometimespainted
throughthestenciltoproducemulticoloureddesignsfromasingle
stencil.However,dyeswereintroducedbylatenineteenthcentury
whichcouldbemixedintothepasteandapplieddirectlytothestencil
(the?Westernmarketstencilsareprobablydirect-dyedthroughthe
stencil).
Thestencilsaremadeofpapermadefrominnerbarkofthepaper
mulberrytree.Thepaperusedinstencilswassometimesrecycled
fromoldledgers.Instencilproduction,thepaperistannedwith
smokeorpersimmonjuicetomakeitstrongerandwaterproof,though
thisprocessalsomakesthepapermorebrittleinthelong-termhence
thebreakingaroundtheedgeofsomeofthestencils.
Domesticmarketstencils
Thestencilsforpatterningclothingfabricareofthreesizeclasses:
sansunokuri,kobanandchūban.Allstencilsareroughlythesame
width–36cmthestandardwidthoffabric,sansunokurihavethe
shortestrepeatlength(around11cm),kobanhavearepeatlength
around15cm.Chūbanhavearepeatlengthofaround20-22cm,they
wereintroducedwhenstencilprintedfabricincreasedinpopularityto
speedupproduction.SeveraloftheMoDAstencilsdonotfitwithin
therepeatlengthrangesgivenbyKuo(1998,p.95),thestencilsinthe
ULITAcollectionshowsimilardisparitywithKuo’ssizeclassessothis
mayjustreflectvariationpossiblyforconvenienceofthepatternsize
orevenpapersizegiventhatitisrecycled.
BecauseclothinJapaneseclothingrunsoverthefrontandbackwith
noshoulderseam,thepatterningrunsinbothdirectionsonstencils
designedforclothingfabricuse(occasionallystencilsrepeatboth
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horizontallyandvertically,thoughnoneofthistypewerenotedin
MoDA’scollection).Stencilsofatypelargerthanchūbantendedtobe
usedforgiftwrappingcloths,towels,bannersorshopsignsandto
havenon-repeatingdesignsorientatedinasingledirection.
Motifs
K2.36Chineseflower(karahana)
andblossom
K2.51orchid
K2.45chrysanthemum
K2.50
Thestencilsfeatureahighnumberofplantand,particularly,flower
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motifswhichmaywellrepresenttheselectionpreferencesofthe
SilverStudioorthedealerstheyboughtfrom.
MoDA’scollectionappearstohavearelativelylowrepresentationof
motifsthatwerecommoninJapanbutnotreadilymeaningfultoa
WesternmarketsuchastheSevenTreasures(K4.9above)whichare
commonintherepresentationofcostumeinprints.
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Thereisalsoalowrepresentationofnarrativestencilsrepresenting
Japanesefolkstoriesandusuallyalsowithanauspiciousconnotation.
Theexampleabove(K2.5)includesacockerelsittingonadrumwhich
isassociatedwithaChineseemperorwhoruledwiselyandpeacefully,
sodrumsforwarningofapproachingenemiesbecameovergrownand
usedasaperchbycockerels.OnlyoneotherstencilintheMoDA
collectionhasacurrentlyidentifiednarrativeassociation–K3.28
representingthestoryofUrashimaTaro(seecataloguerecord).
Themeaningofthemotifsonthestencilsvariesaccordingtomotif
combinatione.g.peoniesmaybeasummerfloweror,combinedwith
aChineselionmayrepresentpowerandtheelite.Meaningalsovaries
accordingtocontext–distributionofpatterningonthegarmentmay
e.g.differentiatebetweenclothingforamarriedorunmarried
woman;colouralsoplaysapartininterpretation,bothofwhichcreate
problemsinidentifyinggarmenttypeandgenderfromstencilssoall
thegeneralpointsbelowneedtobeconsideredwithcaution.
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Status
Inreferencetostatus,someofthestencilshaveimageryassociated
witheliteorclassicalculturesuchaspoemcards(K7.49)andmusical
instruments(K2.39drums).The16-petalledchrysanthemum(present
onstencilsK2.110,K3.1andK3.17)isinteresting–onerepresentation
ofthe16-petalledchrysanthemumisusedastheimperialcrestand
variantsonthiswereusedbyothermembersoftherulingfamily;asa
governmentemblem(e.g.onpassports)andwithanassociationto
Shintosopossiblythesedesignswereforacivilservant’sorpriest's
clothingalthough,bythelateninteenthcentury,restrictionsonmon
(crests)weremorerelaxedsoitmaybethatgeneralpopulacewould
havebeenpermittedtousethismotif.
Stencillingcouldbeusedforhighstatusgarmentsbutembroidery,
handpaintingandpossiblytie-dyeseemtohavebeenmorecommon
techniquesforthehigheststatusgarments.Thereisnoevidencein
theMoDAcollectionoftheidiosyncraticeverydayimagery(e.g.tools,
householditems)whichwereadoptedascrestsordecorative
patterningbymerchantsandruralpopulations–quitelikelytobea
productofWesternselection.
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Seasons
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Broadlyspeaking,thestencilsseemtobedominatedbyautumnal
motifs,K2.43withhares(associatedwiththemoonandthereforewith
Autumnand‘Autumngrasses’)providesagoodexampleofAutumn
imagery.Snowflakesand‘puffed’sparrows(i.e.feathersfluffedup)
arecommonWintermotifs.Cherryblossom(e.g.K1.18andsee
catalogueforothers)isaclassiclateSpringmotifandSummeris
mostlyrepresentedinthecollectionbywisteria(e.g.K1.2)alsoby
mandarinorange(K2.41above).
Gender
TherepresentationofpatterninginprintsshowingJapanesecostume
makeitdifficulttoidentifyadefinitegendersplitinimagery.Inbroad
terms,thehighpresenceofflowersmeansthatthemajorityofstencils
inthiscollectionareprobablyforwomen’sclothingalthoughsome
flowerse.g.peoniesandchrysanthemumsaregenderneutralin
Japaneseculture,orthegendermaybesetbythecolourinwhichthe
designisprinted.
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Typicalimagerymen’sclothingismotifsmorerelatedtonaturalforces
e.g.lightning,clouds,roughwater.StencilsfromMoDA’scollection
whichmaybeformen’scostumeincludeK3.19(left)–bothdragons
andwarfansaremaleassociatedmotifsand,possibly,K2.85(though
examplesof‘roughwater’arealsofoundonwomen’scostume).
Incidentalnotesaboutmotifnames
‘AutumnGrasses’and‘SpringGrasses’areconventionaltermsfor
groupsofclassicseasonalplantsonlyoneofthemisactuallyagrass.
TheAutumngrassesarebellflower,miscanthus,kudzu,bushclover,
easternvalerian,bonesetEupatoriumfortuneiandcarnation.The
SpringGrasses(alsoassociatedwithNewYear,whichfellinSpringin
thelunarcalendar)areturnip,radish,shepherd’spurse,Japanese
parsley(waterdropwort),cudweed,nipplewortandchickweed.The
‘hollyhock’isanothereccentricityofEnglishterminologyinthatthe
plantknownas‘hollyhock’inJapanesedecorationisactuallyAsarum
caulescensnothollyhock–theconfusionhasarisenduetoasimilarity
intheJapanesenameforhollyhockandA.caulescenssothe,common,
hollyhockleafmotif(crestoftheTokugawaclan)doesn’tresemblea
realhollyhockleaf.
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Stencilstructure
fromKuo(1998p.98)
Somestencilprinteddesignsusedtwoormorestencilstocomplete
thefinishedpatterneithertohidesupportingstructuresusedin
stencilswithlargeresistedareasortoapplypatterninginmorethan
onecolour.Twotypesofregistrationmarksareusedonthestencils–
thoseforaddingdetailorhidingtiebarsinacomplexpattern–small
dots,positionedasymmetricallytoensurecorrectorientationand
thoseforcreatingmulti-coloureddesignscutinornearthemarginof
thestencil.Thiscollectionseemsrelativelyunusualinhavingfullsets
ofstencilsavailableforseveralofthemulti-stencildesigns.
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tiebarsonK2.71meshsupportK2.12stitchedsupportonK1.24
Aswellaspapertiebars,supportingstructuresforthestencilscould
becreatedwithsilkmesh;thedesignwouldbecutintoseveral
stackedsheetsofpaperandthesegluedtogetheraspairswiththe
meshsandwichedbetweenthepages.Stitchedsupportisusedtohold
thecentralringsinplaceonK1.24andalsousedonotherstencilsin
thecollectiontorepairthem.
Cuttingtechniques
Fivemaintechniquesareusedinstencilcutting–drawcutting
(hikibori)withthebladedrawntowardsthebodyisthemain
contemporarytechniquebutwastraditionallyusedforcuttingfine
stripepatterns.Thrustcutting(tsukibori),wherethebladeisheld
facingawayfromthebodywiththepapermanipulatedaroundthe
bladeandasaw-likeactionworkingthroughaholeintheboardis
usedforcutting.Itisnotclearwhetherhikiboriwasusedexclusively
forstripesorwhenittookoverfromtsukiborisoeitheroneofthese
techniquesmayhavebeenusedfortheelaboraterepresentational
designsinthecollection.Chiselcutting(ichimaizuki)maybeusedfor
cuttinglatticepatterns.Smallrepeatingdesignsmaybeknifecutor
cutwithanawl(kiribori)orwithshapedpunches(dōgubori).
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Imitationofstitchresistdyeingandikatweaving
Severalofthestencilshaveimitationsofshibori(stitchortieresist
techniques).Thetypesimitatedonthestencilsare:
Kanoko-verysmallsquarescreatedbyfoldingandpinchingasmalltip
offabricaroundwhichthreadiswoundtocreatetheresistedrings(on
K2.14,nextpage).Severaldifferenttypesofkanokoexistaccordingto
thearrangementandpreciseshapeofthedots.
ULITAstencilno.523(presentonMoDAstencilsbutnoexamplesphotographed)
Miurashibori–anotherwoundthreadresistwithalargerandmore
irregularringthankanoko.
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Kumoshibori–threadiswoundinahelicalpatternaroundgathered
fabrictocreateaneffectresemblingacobweb(bottomrightofK2.41
above).
Ori-nuishibori–linesoftightlygatheredrunningstitchwhichcreatea
resisteffectresemblingteetheithersideoftheline(K2.41above).
Kasuri(ikatweave)effectsinwhichthepatternisdyedintothewarp
(andsometimesalsoweft)threadsbeforeweavingcreatinga
featheredeffectarealsoimitated(aboveK2.14andK2.11).
Text
Severalofthestencilshavedealer’sstampsandcarvedtextinthe
formofkana(syllabiccharacters)andkanji(wordcharacters).
Non-repeatingdesigns
ThemajorityofnonrepeatingdesignswithinMoDA’scollectionare
believedtobeforanexportmarketbutthereareasmallgroupof
designswhichincludemotifssuchaspreciousobjectssuggestinga
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domesticmarket.Theseareoblong,haveaborderandhavesmall
motifsorrepeatinggeometricdesignsratherthansinglelargepictorial
image.
Itseemsmostlikelythatthesearetenugui(towels/handwipingcloths,
sometimesalsofoldedasheadbands)becausetheyseemmoreoften
tohavesmallrepeatpatternsthanfuroshiki(giftwrappingcloths)
whichareusuallysquarewithlargerepresentationalimagerybutI
havenotcomeacrossexamplesoftenuguiwithbordersasthesehave.
PossibleWesternmarketstencils
Thesedesignsallfeatureeitherindividualplantsorgroupsofplantsin
anaturalsetting.Mostaremorerealisticdepictionsthanaretypicalof
theusualJapanesemarketstencils.Thelargedesignsseemtobeat
leastsuperficiallysimilarinsubjecttoJapanesehangingscrollsforthe
domesticmarketthemajorityofwhicharepainted.
Twotentativepossibilitiesforthesestencilsarethattheywereeither
intendedtocreaterelativelymassproducedimitationsofhanging
scrollsfortheexportmarketorthattheymayhavebeenproducedfor
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exportasstencilstobeusedtocreatedecorationonwallsand
panelingasintheimagebelow.
th
StencilinginaJapaneseinfluencedroomatParaParaMansion,SouthAustralia,mid19
century.FromForge(1981,p.139)
Noequivalentexampleshaveyetbeenfoundtothesmallfloral
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stencils(e.g.K6.5above)excepttosuggestthattheymayhavebeen
usedtocreateikatweavingthreadpatterns(nineteenthcentury
onwards)whichDusenbury(1993,p.68)describesastypicallybeing
naturalistic.Theydonotseemtostronglyresembletypicalpictorial
ikatdesigns(e-gasuri)sothissuggestionisfarfromcertain.
ExtractfromDusenbury(1993)relatingtostenciluseine-gasuri.
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References
Kuo,S.C.(1998)CarvedPaper:theArtoftheJapaneseStencil
Dusenbury,M.(1993)KasuriinW.J.Rathbun(ed.)BeyondtheTanabataBridge:Traditional
JapaneseTextilesThamesandHudson
Forge,S.(1981)VictorianSplendour,AustralianInteriorDecoration1837-1901.OUP
Youtubevideosshowingvariousaspectsofstencilmakingandprinting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMRwL5PxG2s
papermaking
http://www.wadazen.com/index.html
Thefourlinksunderthesecondblackheadingarevideosofsharpeningtools,transferringa
designtothepaperandcuttingthestencil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGfnXGpz8iA
OverviewofthewholeprocessofmakingandusingthestencilproducedbytheCooperHewitt
Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76TGlrTM6ZM
Transferringthedesign,cuttingthestencilandbrushdyeingtocreateamulticoloureddesign
withasinglestencil
Thethreefilmsbelowshowchugatastencildyeing–asemiindustrialisedprocessinwhichthe
fabricisstackedfordoublesideddyeingbysoakingdyethroughthestackoffabricsheets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7uotax_lMM
applyingpastethroughastencilforchugatadyeing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWrRzP7thyQ
Processofdyeingsecondpartofabove
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZrj0N5xus
Processofdyeing
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