Japanese Boro Noragi

A Japanese farmer's coat from the Meiji period.

• Boro are a class of Japanese textiles that have been mended together by the lower class and repaired over generations as the woven cloth was unattainable by anyone outside of the middle or upper class. Through necessity and ingenuity, an incredible art form flourished.
• Wild indigo or aizome was the preferred color for these textiles as it mirrored the hue of the oceans surrounding the Japanese islands, a symbolic concept that was both culturally and economically important.
• This jacket has been made in the traditional method from scraps and small discarded sections of cotton indigo cloth, and covered in intricate sashiko stitching.