Noh Robe (Atsuita) with Cloud-Shaped Gongs and “Chinese Flowers”

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The term atsuita originally referred to high-quality fabrics imported from China as bolts rolled around “thick wood boards” (atsu-ita). In the Muromachi period (1392–1573), warlords acquired these fabrics through private trade and presented them to Noh actors. The costumes made from such fabrics also came to be called atsuita. In the Edo period, these robes were made from twill-weave fabric produced in Japan and mainly worn by male leads playing warlords, gods, or demons. Costumes for violent gods and demons were decorated with powerful motifs, including dragons, clouds, zigzag patterns known as “hammer-wheels on lightning,” and cloud-shaped, flat gongs, as seen on this robe.

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