Books: Boro

In 2007, the Textile Museum of Canada hosted The Blues, an exhibit curated by Patricia Bentley. John Alexander, the brilliant TMC Shop "curator" brought in some Japanese Boro in conjunction with the exhibit. I had only seen pictures of Boro in books and the actual textiles were gorgeous beyond words. I imagined all of the hands that had dyed the thread, woven the fabric, kept the scraps, and mended the clothing. In the bottom picture is the Boro fragment that came home with me. It is a Noragi (farmer's coat) sleeve from the late nineteenth century (Meiji Period, 1868-1912). Basically, I bought a beautiful rag.
Last summer I discovered Yoshiko Wada's online bookstore and ordered this Boro book. The pictures and accompanying text provide a satisfying read and helped me to better understand the original context of my beautiful rag. Boro were made during difficult times. My thoughts are with the people of Japan as they recover from the devastating earthquake. May beauty emerge from this tragedy.