Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Man’s Under Kimono (Nagajuban) with Mount Fuji
Not on view
Snow-covered Mount Fuji adorns this fashionable nagajuban, which is made of a soft, lightweight plain-weave silk (habutai) similar to taffeta. The large, stylized design of the sacred mountain was rendered against a dark blue ground in stitch-and-bind resist technique (nuishime-shibori), with a painstakingly executed gradation from white to deep gray. The dark hue delicately contrasts with the deep blue ground. Mount Fuji is one of the most represented subjects in Japanese art, depicted on hanging scrolls, folding screens, woodblock prints, ceramics, and lacquerware, and features prominently in Japanese literature. On this robe, the perfectly shaped mountain, revered in Shinto and Buddhism, is a symbol of good fortune.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.