Description
The pictorial rendition of a flocks of ravens gathered on decaying tree stumps has been drawn in <i>yûzen</i> on a velvet ground. Generally <i>yûzen</i> dyeing is done on crepe (J., <i>chirimen</i>), which takes the dyes easily, but in the Meiji period (1868-1912) experiments were made using other fabrics. <i>yûzen</i> on velvet is not intended for kimono, but was invented in 1878 (Meiji 11) by Nishimura Sôzaemon (n.d.) for the purpose of making <i>yûzen</i> dyed pieces as art works to be displayed in the exhibitions popular at the time. Many are screens or wall hangings, characterized by the three-dimensional effect of the velvet pile.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
July 20, 2026