Wisteria and butterfly patterns incorporated with Waritsuke Mon

‘Waritsuke Mon’ (or ‘Mie-Goushi’), is a repeating geometric diamond pattern and characterized by an easy-to-understand and neat pattern. It was designed for, and popularly used in Kabuki theatre costumes. The basic form of this pattern was also introduced in Hokusai's pattern manual published in 1815, and reflected in the pattern designs of Katagami in the late Edo period (1800-1867). Chou (Butterfly) is one of the most popular patterns in Japanese culture, often seen on Japanese Kimonos and textiles.The butterfly has many spiritual, symbolic and artistic meanings for Japanese people, both now and in the past. Komochi-Fuji pattern (wisteria) is not only decorative but also has special cultural meaning, and has seasonal significance as well as being a symbolic metaphor for virtues such as longevity, rejuvenation and resilience. The work of Ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyasu around 1810 reflected this kimono pattern worn by famous Kabuki theatre actors and influencing popular fashion trends. This Katagami employed the Itoire technique. This is one method of silk thread reinforcement in Katagami. Itoire was a detailed technique which was applied to Katagami by veteran female artisans at Shiroko, Ise, from about 1750. Itoire was used until 1920. See Markham, Mamiko (2018): Katagami technique Itoire. Middlesex University Journal contribution. https://doi.org/10.22023/mdx.6477776.v1 This is one of around 400 Japanese katagami stencils which are part of the Silver Studio Collection. The stencils were produced in Japan as a way of applying patterns to fabric, mainly kimonos. The katagami collected by the Silver Studio were used by their designers as reference material to produce their own Japanese-inspired patterns.