Stencil with Continuous Fret Pattern (sayagata)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This stencil's continuous fret pattern originated in china, but in the Edo period it became extremely common in Japanese dress. Many silk kosode robes from the 17th through 19th centuries were made of dyed and embroidered rinzu, a lightweight figured satin typically patterned with tiny flowers on a sayagata background. Cargo lists of the early Edo period reveal that large amounts of rinzu were imported to Japan from China.

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