Carved Paper

Japanese paper stencils, or katagami (literally pattern paper), are the pattern-bearing tools used in a textile-dyeing process known as katazome. In this process, a dye-resistant paste is applied to cloth through a stencil made of mulberry paper which has been waterproofed with persimmon juice. Despite their functional nature, the exceptional beauty of their striking patterns and the masterful carving on their rich brown paper have captivated Westem collectors, designers, and artists for the last 150 years. Large numbers of stencils were collected at the tum of the century and are now housed in museums throughout Europe and America.

These stencils, often reinforced with silk threads, embody a vast array of designs ranging from miniature, geometric shapes to elaborate, pictorial compositions with motifs drawn from nature, poetry, folklore, and objects from daily life. Together they constitute an extraordinary archive of Japanese two-dimensional design and offer a rich insight into Japanese art and culture.

Paper stencils have been used for textile dyeing in Japan since at least the 12th century. All of the stencils in this exhibition were used for dyeing repeat patterns on yardage which was made into a variety of everyday clothing including indigo-dyed hemp and cotton work clothes, colorful silk kimonos, the formal dress of samurai and the more flamboyant theater and festival costumes. The golden age of stencil dyeing came during the late Edo and Meiji periods, about 1790-1912, when most of the stencils in the exhibition were created, in response to the aesthetic needs of an increasingly affluent urban middle class. The insatiable demand for new fashions stimulated an outpouring of stencil patterns which has rarely, if ever, been equalled in the world of textile design.

For nearly 500 years two villages, Shiroko and Jike, on the west coast of Ise Bay have been responsible for creating more than 90% of the paper stencils used by dyers throughout Japan. The Japanese government recognized the significance of this tradition in 1952, when it designated Ise stencil carving an "Intangible Cultural Property" and later recognized six stencil artists as "Living National Treasures." Today, approximately half of Japan's stencil carvers, approximately three hundred craftsmen, still live in the Ise villages. They belong to the Ise Stencil Carving Guild, which is now guardian of this tradition; from them we have learned much about the life and practices of stencil carvers generations ago.

Types of Stencils

Stencils are broadly classified into four types based on the pattern size, carving technique, and dyeing method.

Komon ("small motifs") stencil: denotes miniature patterns with sparkling beauty originally identified with the formal dress of samurai. During the Edo period (1613-1868), wealthy townspeople popularized these small patterns and fostered the refinement of the stencil carving and textile dyeing skills required for such delicate work.

Stripes (shima) stencil: deceptively simple in appearance, stripes are by far the most difficult type of pattern to carve in stencils. The frequently issued sumptuary laws during the Edo period (1613-1868) encouraged the restrained aesthetic of stripes and checks in woven and stencil-dyed clothing.

Chgata ("medium patterns") stencil: includes a wide range of patterns, many conveying a sense of exuberance and dynamism in their combination of abstract and geometric elements with naturalistic images of foliage, flowers, soaring birds, flowing water and swimming fish. Chgata were used to dye a variety of textiles including kimono, bedding, children's clothing, and costumes for theater and festivals. Chgata are identified, in most people's minds today, with an informal, unlined cotton summer robe known as yukata.

Chsen "pour (dyeing)" stencil: a dyeing method originally developed in 1907 for long cotton hand towels and later adopted for dyeing fabrics to increase the speed of production. The chsen dyeing method produces pattern units that are mirror images of one another because the cloth is folded during the paste-laying procedure. Stencils made for chsen dyeing are longer than other stencils and their patterns were composed to reflect the unique dyeing method. Since 1920s, the majority of stencil patterns for yukata, a popular informal, cotton summer robe, have been dyed by the chsen process.

Stencil Design and Motifs

Stencil images are expressed in two basic ways: as an open silhouette on solid ground and as a solid silhouette on open ground. The dynamic interplay of this "figure" and "ground" relationship is the basis for endlessly varied stencil designs.

While geometric patterns are generally governed by common mathematical principles, the more free-form compositions reveal the Japanese preference for asymmetry, diagonal composition, and dramatic contrast of positive and negative space. It is important to remember that stencil designs are not intended to be seen as isolated compositions but to be repeated on the surface of cloth to form rhythmic decoration.

Stencil design motifs are often drawn from a set of visual themes whose cultural significance is understood by a wide number of Japanese people. Elements of nature, such as plants and animals, are regularly depicted. Other popular motifs are drawn from poetry, famous artworks, seasonal festivals and folklore. Familiar everyday objects such as fans, thread spools and toys are also sources of design. In addition, stencils often simulate the effect of other textile techniques such as tie-dyed kanoko ("fawn spots") and ika motifs which, by the nineteenth century, became standard elements in the repertoire of stencil design.