SAGANISHIKI – JAPANESE SILK & PAPER BROCADE


Saganishiki" is a gorgeous Japanese traditional art using Japanese rice paper coated with gold, silver, platinum or lacquer and silk. Saganishiki was practiced by a very selected few wives of the highest social class of the Saga clan (southern part of Japan, in Kyushu area), two hundred years ago. Once it was not performed during the chaotic days in Meiji era, but re-discovered, and re-developed.  Around then in Meiji era, the weaving was named "Saganishiki."

  The exquisite beauty of this weaving results from the combination of the gorgeous Japanese paper and the shining, colorful silk.  This brocade is used to decorate the after-room, make elaborate doll costumes, fine Kimonos, purses and other small accessories and ornaments.


Saga Nishiki was created at the end of the Edo Period by Kashima Nabeshima, the daimyo of Saga. At this time it was referred to as Kashima Nishiki. It was not until the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 that it was renamed "Saga Nishiki".

'Edo Period (period between 1603 to 1868 in the history of Japan when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional Daimyo)'

Saga Nishiki is a form of brocading from Saga prefecture, Japan. It is a unique form of brocading in that Japanese paper is used as the warp. This paper is coated in either gold, silver or lacquer. The weft is a silk thread which is dyed. As the technique is time-consuming, only several inches are produced each day.

The warp really is paper. It is treated with a special laquered surface. The best traditional stuff is leafed with real gold, silver or platinum.

 The warps are made of rice paper, and are hand-cut with a special tool.

The silk makes long floats on the back, but because of the sturdiness of the paper warp, it doesn't cause buckling.

Washi is a style of paper that was first made in Japan. Washi is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub , or the paper mulberry, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat. Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made by hand in the traditional manner.

Washi is generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used in many traditional arts. Origami, Shodo, and Ukiyo-e were all produced using washi. Washi was also used to make various everyday goods like clothes, household goods, and toys as well as vestments and ritual objects for Shinto priests and statues of Buddha. It was even used to make wreaths that were given to winners in the 1998 Winter Paralympics. Several kinds of washi, referred to collectively as Japanese tissue, are used in the conservation and mending of books. Washi has also found a new form, as a tape, usually combined with acrylic glue. It is similar to masking tape in that it is removable from most surfaces.