Furoshiki (Wrapping Cloth)

This work is a furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth, designed by Domoto and executed in silk using multiple resist-dyeing techniques including yuzen stenciling. Created during the early Showa period (1926-1935), the cloth demonstrates Domoto's engagement with applied arts alongside his painting and printmaking practice. The yuzen dyeing process, in which rice paste resist and hand-applied dyes create intricate patterns on silk, was a Kyoto specialty with centuries of history. Domoto's design for this functional textile applies his Nihonga aesthetic to a practical object, bridging the categories of fine and applied art. The multiple techniques employed, including ita-age, suri yuzenzome, otoshizome, and shigokizome, indicate a technically ambitious production requiring skilled craftsmen to realize the artist's design.