Long Gold Silk Bolster Cushion – Silver Chrysanthemum Motifs

This gold silk bolster cushion was woven in Kyoto in the post-war years, when Japan's great silk workshops were returning to their craft and the chrysanthemum (emblem of the Imperial household and ancient symbol of longevity) was being worked once more into the finest Fukuro Obi. The silver thread is raised above a gold ground that shifts with the light. Turn it over and the reverse is the original obi back, woven in the same metallic gold silk with sayagata geometric patterning. A piece of living textile history, made to be seen from every angle.