surihaku　摺箔

KEY WORD :　art history / crafts

"Rubbed metal foil." A decorative technique for textiles in which metal foil is impressed on a design first drawn in paste. The term is also used for noh costumes, *noushouzoku 能装束 for female roles when this technique was applied. Surihaku designs are executed by applying sheets of gold or silver leaf to cloth, usually shusu 繻子 or rinzu 綸子 satins, although other materials were used. A stencil is placed on the cloth through which the paste is applied and on top of this the gold or silver leaf is placed. Deep red, purple or indigo cloths best show off the silver or gold design. The surihaku technique dates to the Nara period, and Heian literature reveals that it was used for court attire. The Kamakura and Muromachi periods witnessed the rise of gold and silver brocade, *kinran 金襴 and ginran 銀襴, as well as loose gauzes with designs woven with gold or silver thread, all imported from China and worn on robes by Zen 禅 monks. In the Momoyama period, these fabrics were produced in Japan by the substitute surihaku technique. Surihaku is used alone or with other techniques. For instance, in nuihaku 縫箔 (lit. embroidery and foil), embroidery is combined with imprinted gold or silver foil to create a vibrant surface based on the contrast between the three-dimensional effect of the silk floss against the flat sheen of the gold or silver leaf. Nuihaku is also the name for a type of no robe, used mainly for female roles and high-ranking male roles, decorated with the technique. Used largely as a substitute for expensive woven textiles from China, it was developed in the Momoyama period. Unlike *tsujigahanazome 辻が花染, nuihaku was used exclusively for the *kosode 小袖 of elite women. Where Momoyama period nuihaku imitate the repeated symmetrical designs of the textiles they replaced, Edo period nuihaku exhibit a great range of designs.

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