Obi

Subject Matter:

This is a Nagoya obi in otaiko gara.

Nagoya obi were first produced at the end of the Taisho era, and are shorter than the more formal fukuro and maru obi. A portion of Nagoya obi fabric is folded and stitched in half to make tying easier.  Gara refers to the orientation, arrangement, and surface area of the patterns and pertains to a specific trend and obi tying style.

The patterning in the Otaiko gara type is minimal. A few concentrated spots of patterned motif lie on the obi while the rest is left blank. This style was invented during the Edo period (1615-1868) by the female entertainers in Fukugawa, an entertainment district in present-day Tokyo.

Physical Description:

Off-white and gold speckled Nagoya Obi with various  interwoven gray gold, gray, orange, and green motifs. The interwoven motifs consist of a gold cloud background on which a treasure box decorated with violet, orange, and green seigaiha (wave crest) motif patterning and a vase decorated with hexagonal orange, green, and navy blue paulownia leaf motif patterning, a fishing rod, and water ripple motifs, and gunbai uchiwa (fan held by sumo wrestler referee) are depicted to possibly narrate the Urashima Tarou tale.

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