Pieces from a Robe (Kosode) with Autumn Grasses
Not on view
These textiles have a lighthearted pattern of various autumn grasses, including Chinese bellflowers (kikyō), bush clover (hagi), and miscanthus grass (susuki) on a background of large triangular shapes. The pieces were once part of a robe (kosode).
The textiles share the simplified, somewhat flattened style consistent with designs called "Kōrin patterns" (Kōrin moyō) after the great Rinpa artist Ogata Kōrin (1658–1715). Beginning in the 1710s, kosode pattern books often labeled designs "kōrin," though they used homophonic characters for the syllable "-rin" rather than the actual character of the artist’s name. One such reference occurs in a book of 1716, Hiinagata kiku no i (Pattern Book: Chrysanthemum Well). Among its several designs for kosode with backgrounds of triangular shapes similar to those seen here is one labeled "kōrin."
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