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Okinawa, Japan ca. early twentieth century banana leaf fiber (Musa balbisiana) |
Detail: Front A very fine bashofu kimono, the fibers having been extracted from the base of the leaves of the Musa balbisiana, a kind of banana tree prevalent on Okinawa, but not native to the place. Bashofu in varying grades was worn by everyone in Okinawa since the sixteenth century, from the impoverished who would wear garments of bashofu rags to the ruling class who would wear bashofu kimono of the rarest quality, woven with the most extravagant patterns. Although Musa balbisiana is not native to Okinawa, its cloth is now synonymous with the Okinawan archipelago and has come to be something of an emblem of the Okinawan people, both internally and from abroad. Detail: Close-up |
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