Irises on Banded Ground
Iris (shobu) is a popular motif in Japan. The alternating banded ground in an elongated checkered board pattern illustrates the ground in light and dark zones.
Credit: Gift of Helen Snyder
mid 18th - early 19th century
Mulberry paper (kozo washi) treated with fermented persimmon tannin (kakishibu), and silk threads (itoire)
1976-103-34
Image and text © Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2020