TEXTILES
Japan
Futonji (futon cover)
Plain weave; Resist dyed, paste resist (tsutsugaki); Painted
Cotton; Vegetable dye (indigo); Pigments; Tsutsugaki printing
61 x 54 1/2 in. (155 x 138.4 cm) overall
Frances and Thomas Blakemore Collection
TC 96.2-192

The auspicious pine (matsu), plum blossom (ume), and bamboo (take) motifs used here are known as East Asia’s three companions of the deep cold. The square “mesh” (meyui) crests on each corner refer to "eye tie," a costly process of dyeing fabric by puckering and tying it before dyeing (shibori). -- Researched by Elisa Law, Spring 2013.