kogin overgarment

kogin overgarment , late 1800s, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Where object was made: Aomori Prefecture, Tsugaru Peninsula, Tohoku, Japan

Material/technique: stitching; cotton thread; embroidering; tabby; ramie; bast fiber

Dimensions:
Object Length/Width (Length x Width): 53.3 x 94 cm
Object Length/Width (Length x Width): 37 x 21 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Barbara Benton Wescoe Fund

Accession number: 1993.0009

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
“Flowers, Dragons and Pine Trees: Asian Textiles in the Spencer Museum of Art,” Nov-2005, Mary Dusenbury
Each geographical area on the Tsugaru peninsula at the far north of Honshu island had a distinctive type of patterning, executed with counted-thread stitching on an odd-numbered grid. Within a given pattern type, each maker chose or created specific motifs. The large-scale patterning of this kogin garment is typical of the region east of the Iwaki River, while the snowflake-like motif set into the overall pattern of interconnected diamonds was specifically chosen (or created) by its producer. Patterns were traditionally handed down from mother to daughter, recorded in the cloth.

Archive Label 2003:
This unusual kimono shaped overgarment is decorated with finely executed counted thread embroidery (kogin) on indigo dyed ramie panels that can be removed and reapplied to a new garment as needed. Kogin garments such as this represent a narrowly specialized tradition, centered on the Tsugaru Peninsula at the far northern tip of the main island of Honshu.

Each geographical area in the Tsugaru Peninsula had a distinctive patterning. Within that pattern type each maker chose or created special motifs. Thus the large overall patterning of this kogin garment is typical of the region east of the Iwaki River, while the snowflake-like motif set into the overall pattern of interconnected diamonds was the maker's own.