Rare Meiji Tsutsugaki Textile – Indigo Abstract Waves, Antique Japanese Cotton 14519

This is an original Tsutsugaki-dyed cotton textile created during the Meiji to Taishō period (late 19th–early 20th century).

I have worked with Japanese antique textiles for over 20 years, and I can state with confidence that
I have never encountered a Tsutsugaki piece with a design this modern and abstract.

Traditionally, Tsutsugaki textiles of this era featured auspicious motifs—pine trees, cranes, turtles, family crests—designs deeply rooted in symbolism and good fortune.
In stark contrast, this piece abandons narrative symbolism entirely, presenting instead a bold, rhythmic composition of undulating wave-like lines.

Such a design would have been considered heretical or radical at the time.
It is highly likely that this textile was experimental, never widely circulated, and therefore remained unseen—
a forgotten outlier born from an uncompromising artistic vision.

The textile has never been washed, remaining exactly as it was in its original era.
Natural aging, including period scent and light staining, is present,
yet the fabric itself remains remarkably well preserved.

This is not merely a piece of cloth—it is a moment when Japanese folk craft briefly leapt into modern abstraction, far ahead of its time.

It is, in all likelihood, a once-in-a-lifetime piece.
An object for collectors who truly understand the value of rarity, history, and audacity.

size
wide 151cm
Length 205cm

Weight 1500g