Scroll (418 x 5420 mm.), silk brocade on outside of front endpaper, inside endpaper decorated with square-cut gold flecks. [Japan]: late Edo.

Court attire in mid-Edo Japan was a combination of Heian era (794-1185) court dress with more modern “warrior court” outfits such as hitatare 直垂, nōshi 直衣, and kamishimo 裃, each worn according to rank, setting, and ritual context. Our extremely detailed scroll depicts many kinds of aristocratic and court attire and accessories worn for these official occasions. What is so remarkable about this scroll is the number of diagrams showing — like a tailor’s pattern book — how... More