Katagami, Katagami: Waves, ca. 1985

Katagami, a Japanese paper stencil dyeing technique popular for producing textiles during the Edo and Meiji periods, consists of numerous layers of Japanese mulberry paper joined together with fermented persimmon juice, which are then intricately carved into patterns meant to be repeated. Although katagami are intended for textile use, the stencils have also been deeply influential in late 19th and early 20th-century Western art and design. With nearly 400 stencils in the collection, Cooper Hewitt has one of the largest and most significant holdings of katagami in the United States.
This stencil is one of three stunning pieces offered as a gift to the museum by the Isekatagami Kyoudoukumiai, an organization of katagami artisans, dealers, and collectors based in Japan. The artisans who train in the craft of carving katagami often spend their entire careers perfecting a single technique. Each sheet under consideration represents a different carving technique. The sheets have never been used for printing and remain in exceptional condition. In addition, they date to the mid-1980s, a period of production that would enhance the historic continuum of the museum’s katagami collection.

Katagami, Katagami: Waves, ca. 1985; Japan; cut mulberry paper treated with fermented persimmon juice; H x W: 45.1 x 54.3 cm (17 3/4 x 21 3/8 in.); Gift of Isekatagami Kyoudoukumiai; 2014-28-3