Kosode Fragment

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The lively kosode from which this textile came had a vivid pattern of a clematis vine growing on a curving bamboo fence. Some of the embroidery is now missing from the leaves and one of the flowers, allowing a view of notations in ink: the syllable ki, seen in the leaves, and aka (red) in the center of a clematis flower, instructed the embroiderer to use gold thread (kinshi) for the leaves and red for the flower.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art