Get lost in the intricate details and expert techniques of fukusa, used to adorn special gifts in Japan.
You might be familiar with the colorful furoshiki cloths used in Japan to wrap and transport items by hand. But what about fukusa, the more glamorous textiles that make appearances only on the most special occasions?
Traditionally used as gift coverings at weddings, birthdays, or annual holidays, fukusa are meant to impress. The selection of fukusa currently on view in the Japanese galleries highlights a dazzling range of embroidered, woven, appliquéd, or hand-painted designs. Scenes of Mt. Fuji, visual puns, calligraphic poetry, and more are rendered using threads, silk, satin, and precious metals, comprising a survey of virtuosic decorative techniques.
On view adjacent to the fukusa installation, an altar cloth (uchishiki) provides a spectacular example of similarly expert technique, using detailed embroidery to depict a scene from the story of Daoist immortal Qin Gao riding a carp.
This installation was curated by Senior Curator of Japanese Art Dr. Laura Allen and Associate Curator of Japanese Art Dr. Yuki Morishima from a fukusa collection donated by longtime Asian Art Museum docent Peter Sinton.
Top image: Altar cloth (uchishiki) with Qin Gao riding a carp and parable of Lu Ji (detail), 1830-1868. Japan. Silk, satin weave, with silk and gold-wrapped thread embroidery and glass. Asian Art Museum, Gift of Peter and Beverly Sinton, F2022.25.4. Left: Gift cover (fukusa) with view of Mt. Fuji from Suruga Bay, 1781-1788. Japan. Silk, satin weave, with silk and gold-wrapped thread embroidery. Asian Art Museum, Gift of Peter and Beverly Sinton, F2022.25.6. Below: Installation view. Photographs © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
