tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9258069.post110102073300595981..comments2023-04-06T09:12:50.203-07:00Comments on Daruma Doll Museum : Okinawa DollsGabi Grevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9258069.post-64763758547357603302012-09-26T16:18:53.327-07:002012-09-26T16:18:53.327-07:00The fabric of Okinawa design
By C.B. LIDDELL
at t...The fabric of Okinawa design<br /><br />By C.B. LIDDELL<br />at the Mingeikan (The Japan Folk Crafts Museum), <br /><br />Bingata, which literally means "red style," refers to a kind of brightly-colored cloth — either silk or cotton — that is particularly associated with Okinawa. One of the agendas of the folk arts movement in Japan, and elsewhere, is to provide an organic, grassroots basis for national unity. By emphasizing Okinawa's links to Japan and being timed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the return of the island to Japan, this exhibition partly fulfils that role.<br /><br />But the reason bingata has been such a prized part of Japanese folk arts was because of Okinawa's unique place as a cultural crossroads in touch with the wider world outside Japan. The former Ryukyu Kingdom's links with China and Southeast Asia gave it access to a rich variety of dyeing materials, such as cochineal and vermillion, which allowed the bingata tradition to develop.<br /><br />The patterns also seem to bear out this foreign influence, with Chinese motifs happily juxtaposed with Japanese ones. One of the kimonos on display includes motifs of birds and flowers that one visitor assured me can't be found in mainland Japan. Bingata patterns are applied using a stencil technique and employing dye-resistant pastes. Traditionally the pastes are made from sweet rice and rice bran.<br /><br />Some of the fabric of the exhibits on display has been damaged, and all of the items have presumably faded to some degree, as most of them date from the 19th century. Despite this, the vividness of the colors is still remarkable and the designs enchanting. These range from elaborate patterns of mingling birds and flowers to simpler designs.<br /><br />http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20120927a3.html<br />newshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20120927a3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com