Katagami — Flying Fish (Japan, c. 1900)

A katagami — the Japanese paper stencil cut to resist-dye kimono cloth, on the same principle as the silkscreen.

The document

A hand-cut mulberry-paper dye-stencil, c. 1900, its reinforced edges part of the object. Reproduced faithfully from the original at Cooper Hewitt.

About the artist

Katagami were cut by anonymous master artisans in Japan; this flying-fish design is from the Meiji period.

The print

Printed to order and made to last. Choose Museum Matte (heavyweight matte art paper) or Fine Art Giclée (Hahnemühle cotton paper — the archival standard). The Métrica museum caption — artist, title, date and source — is printed as part of the piece, set in our house type. Free US shipping on two or more pieces.

Japan (Meiji) · Flying Fish (katagami), paper dye-stencil · c. 1900 · Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum · Accession 1946-104-8 · Public domain (CC0).

Theme: Japanese katagami — a paper stencil of flying fish, cut by hand to dye cloth.