Base fabric: Fine silk crepe (kinsha) in plain weave

Size style: Naga-haori

Family crests (mon) present: none

Dimensions: 50 inches (127 cm) from sleeve-end to sleeve-end and 38 inches (97 cm) in height

Classic Japanese textile design emerges through a repeating pattern of paulownia motifs in deep purple against a lighter lavender background. All patterning appears through shibori, which creates a subtle textural effect that adds depth and sophistication to the overall design. The paulownia motifs are rendered in a bold, graphic style that demonstrates the Japanese aesthetic principle of simplification and abstraction. Each flower head is composed of several rounded petals or leaves arranged in a balanced, symmetrical composition, with accompanying foliage elements that add movement and organic flow to the pattern. The monochromatic purple color scheme is particularly noteworthy, as it exemplifies the Japanese appreciation for subtle gradations of a single color, known as "tone on tone" or "ton-sur-ton" in Western design terminology. This sophisticated use of color values predates similar approaches that became popular in Western Art Deco textiles of the 1920s and 1930s. The spacing and arrangement of the motifs shows careful attention to negative space, or "ma" in Japanese aesthetics. The flowers are distributed across the fabric in a seemingly random but carefully balanced pattern that creates visual interest while maintaining harmony and avoiding overcrowding. This approach to pattern design, which appears effortless yet is carefully calculated, is a hallmark of Japanese textile arts that would later influence Western modernist approaches to surface design.

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