See more objects with the tag water, waves, black and white, fishing, ocean.

Object Timeline

1925

  • Work on this object ended.

1946

  • We acquired this object.

2009

2015

2019

2024

  • You found it!

Katagami, Waves, Fishing Nets, and Pine Leaves

This is a Katagami. It is dated late 19th–early 20th century and we acquired it in 1946. Its medium is mulberry paper (kozo washi) treated with fermented persimmon juice (kakishibu), silk threads (itoire). It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Dramatic waves surge and splash across the composition of this ocean-themed stencil. Fishing nets, stretched out to dry, are joined by stylized branches of black pine, native to the Japanese coast. Water is a frequent subject in the designs for yukata—a type of kimono fashioned out of light cotton. Originally worn as an undergarment, yukata later became popular dress for the bathhouse, where the connection with water was established. By the 19th century, yukata had moved from the bathhouse to the street, as it became accepted practice for the robes to be worn in public, especially at summer festivals.

It is credited Museum purchase through gift of Norvin Hewitt Green.

Its dimensions are

59.8 × 40.3 cm (23 9/16 × 15 7/8 in.) Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22 in.)

Cite this object as

Katagami, Waves, Fishing Nets, and Pine Leaves; Japan; mulberry paper (kozo washi) treated with fermented persimmon juice (kakishibu), silk threads (itoire); 59.8 × 40.3 cm (23 9/16 × 15 7/8 in.) Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Norvin Hewitt Green; 1946-104-6

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Katagami.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18603217/ |title=Katagami, Waves, Fishing Nets, and Pine Leaves |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>