Maggs Bros. Ltd.

A fabulous pattern book for Sarasa (i.e. chintz) textiles by an eighteenth-century aesthete.

Inaba Michikatsu (1736-1786) was born and based in Osaka and had initially trained as a physician. For some reason, he decided to move away from the medical profession and turned his attention to publishing, and started his own company. His interests as an author and publisher were in the aesthetic world, namely crafts. He was known to be an expert in the decorative metal fittings on samurai swords and wrote a well-known book that lists different types. Inaba also published a similar type of book on leatherwork made with shark skin.

The present work is another example of Inaba's interest in crafts. Sarasa textiles originate in India, and were first imported to Japan by Portuguese traders. They are usually block printed in ornate, repeating patterns onto cotton and are more commonly referred to as 'chintz' in the West. Imported during the Edo period, Sarasa textiles were fabulously rare and highly fashionable. They were very expensive, and so only the wealthiest could afford such fabrics. In many cases, they were used to make very small items, such a tobacco pouches and accessories. However, there were also examples of large lengths of Sarasa fabrics being used for kimono linings and undergarments, which would have been very extravagant at the time and an expression of iki sensibilities.

This book is filled with woodblock printed reproductions of Sarasa textile patterns, and was published right at the time when these fabrics were in fashion in Edo society.

Very rare. Only 3 copies in OCLC (Yale, Royal Ontario Museum, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek). This title exists more widely in Japanese institutions, and Waseda have a digitised version online.