Noren with Design of Flowering Cherry Tree

Japan

Not on view

A noren (shop curtain) hangs across the upper part of a doorway as a sort of partition and is supported by a pole passing through its loops. It is made up of several vertical panel sunder which people can easily pass through the doorway.

The boldly flowering cherry tree that covers the coarse plain weave of this noren was drawn with the tsutsugaki (literally, "tube-drawing") technique. In this paste-resist dyeing process, the design is drawn with an applicator consisting of a paper cone with a metal tip that trails rice paste onto the cloth. Then the cloth is dyed, usually with indigo. The areas covered with paste resist the dye and remain white while the background, through repeated dipping and oxidation, attains a dark blue color.

Noren with Design of Flowering Cherry Tree, Indigo-dyed hemp, Japan

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