Kimono-shaped bedding (yogi)

early 20th century

The yogi, literally "night wear," is a kimono-shaped bed coverlet stuffed with unprocessed cotton, enlarged by an extra panel of cloth sewn in the back. These unusual comforters were typically made by a rural bride and her female relatives and served as valuable additions to a wedding trousseau. A bold crest of an encircled oak branch is offset by accents of richly colored motifs, each symbolically significant. A flaming magic jewel, believed to produce anything one desired, appears twice. A stylized plum branch, which bravely blooms when snow still covers the ground, adorns the left sleeve. The leaf of a paulownia tree-auspicious because it is the only place where the fabled phoenix alights-is at bottom right.

Cotton cloth with freehand paste-resist decoration (tsutsugaki)

58 x 53 1/2 in. (147.32 x 135.89 cm)

Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection

89.143

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Signs of Fortune, Symbols of Immortality", November 2, 2000 - July 25, 2001

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Indigo" May 9, 2003 - October 19, 2003

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Beyond The Tanabata Bridge: A Textile Journey In Japan (Washington, D.C., Textile Museum, Sept. 10, 1993 - Feb. 27, 1994; Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham Museum of Art, Apr. 17 - June 26, 1994; Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Art, Mar. 12 - May 28, 1995).

Published ReferencesRathbun, William Jay, Seattle Art Museum, "Beyond The Tanabata Bridge: Traditional Japanese Textiles", 1993 Seattle, Washington. pg. 55, 135

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