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Textile Fragment with Minogame in Waves Design

Japan
ca. 1800-50

An embroidered appliqué in the shape of a decorated poem card (shikishi), made from a repurposed fragment of a wealthy samurai-class women's kimono. Such luxurious silk textiles were too valuable to discard after wear and were routinely repurposed into new garments (see Accession no. 2024.021). This appliqué, along with other similarly shaped embroidered fragments, would have likely been arranged in a disorderly composition and sewed onto an outer robe.


The fragment’s design depicts a minogame, a long lived turtle with a tail of seaweed growing from their shells. This creature is a symbol of longevity, often paired with other longevity symbols like pine trees and cranes.

Additional information

It is possible that object information will be updated as new research findings are discovered. Please email kentonicollection@gmail.com if you can improve this record.

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