#color woodcuts

Decorative Sunday

Japanese Pattern Book

This week we present pages from the first of a two-volume, traditional Japanese fabric-pattern sample book, Orimon ZukanbyRinō (or Rindo) Fujii, published in Kyoto in 1898. As prosperity grew in the early Edo Period of the 17th century, a fashion-conscious audience developed and flourished, leading to the publication of the first pattern books, hinagata-bon 雛形本, in the 1660s. Designs were inspired by a wide range of sources, including the natural world, folklore, history, signs of the zodiac, auspicious symbols, and literature. These early works were printed using traditional woodblock technology in black and white, often including notes describing the intended color and type of fabric. 

This novel type of publication proved very popular and they continued to be produced into the 20th century. As color printing became more sophisticated, so did pattern books, and by the late 19th century, publishers, led by Kyoto-based firms, were collaborating with noted artists to produce a range of sample books from which clients could choose their preferred colors and fabrics, such as the example presented here.

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