google-site-verification: google615fe10ab62068fe.html
This kurofurisode showcases a sophisticated interplay of auspicious wedding motifs rendered through an extraordinary combination of decorative techniques. As a formal wedding garment for the bride, the garment presents a classical Japanese landscape composition that flows organically across the black silk ground, featuring stylized pine trees (matsu), cascading wisteria blossoms, chrysanthemums, and other seasonal flowers arranged in the asymmetrical e-zukushi (picture exhaustion) style that was highly prized during this era.
The symbolic program is deeply meaningful for a bridal garment, with the stylized pine motifs representing longevity and steadfastness in marriage, while the wisteria (fuji) symbolizes humility and long life, and chrysanthemums (kiku) signify nobility and autumn abundance. These auspicious symbols would have conveyed wishes for a prosperous, enduring marriage filled with virtue and happiness. The technical execution demonstrates remarkable virtuosity, combining yuzen resist-dyeing with multiple embroidery techniques including sagara French knot work that creates dimensional texture in the flower centers, precise satin-stitch embroidery enhanced with metallic threads, and elegant couching work that follows the natural curves of stems and branches.
The addition of surihaku gold leaf outlining creates luminous definition throughout the composition, while the padded hem construction borrowed from uchikake robes adds both visual weight and luxurious tactile quality that would have enhanced the garment's ceremonial presence during the wedding festivities. This piece exemplifies the aesthetic philosophy of the Rinpa school, with its bold use of negative space and rhythmic repetition of motifs that seem to float across the garment's surface in natural, organic arrangements. As part of a three-garment kasane layering ensemble (the others are items 1628b and 1628c), this outer furisode would have created stunning visual effects through the interplay of colors and patterns glimpsed at the sleeves and hem.
It features five family crests and measures 51 inches (130 cm) from sleeve-end to sleeve-end, standing at a height of 67 inches (170 cm).