Book Cover (Gyoshiki Hoo-Mon Nishiki)

The original is a Nishiki (polychrome patterned silkp) reserved in the Shōsoin Repository (the Imperial treasure house built more than 1,200 years ago). It is believed to have been the covering of an arm-rest used by Emperor Shōmu (701-756). The main motif of the pattern is a grapevine arabesque roundel with a flapping phoenix in the center. It is typical of Sassanian-style designs to enclose animals or birds in roundels. In this design it is superbly combined with a phoenix, an imaginary bird in China, and grapevine arabesques showing the East-Roman influence. The fabric is a good example of the Japanese culture in the Nara Period (8th century), having direct or indirect access to the Chinese and Western cultures. The original weft-patterned Nishiki is noteworthy in the Shōsoin collection in terms of design, color scheme and weaving technique. Our fabric is a reproduction of the original pattern on a smaller scale, woven with the warp-cloth technique with a special care for refined color scheme most fit for this type of weaving.