Fireman’s Jacket (Hikeshi-Banten) with Susanoo-no-mikoto Deity Scene

mid-19th century

Not on view

Decoration was important to firefighters’ garments, which were far from purely utilitarian uniforms. Firefighters enjoyed respect and high status in urban Japan, especially in Edo, where wood architecture and crowded living conditions led to frequent outbreaks of fire. Commoners wore reversible coats (hikeshi-banten) made of thick, quilted cotton fabric, with a plain indigo-dyed exterior and an elaborately decorated interior. The inside of the quilted jacket here depicts a climactic scene from a legend recorded in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters, ca. 711): Susanoo-no-mikoto, the younger brother of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, saves the eighth and last daughter of an elderly couple from being taken by a monstrous serpent. Trousers and an inner jacket complete this set; gloves and socks as well as head gear of the same material would also have been part of the ensemble.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

紺木綿地素戔嗚尊模様火消袢纏
Title: Fireman’s Jacket (Hikeshi-Banten) with Susanoo-no-mikoto Deity Scene
Period: Edo (1615–1868) or Meiji (1868–1912) period, mid-19th century
Date: mid-19th century
Culture: Japanese
Medium: Quilted cotton with tube-drawn paste-resist dyeing (tsutsugaki) with hand-painted details
Dimensions: (a): 36 1/2 × 47 3/4 in. (92.7 × 121.3 cm)
(b): 31 1/2 × 54 1/2 in. (80 × 138.4 cm)
(c): 40 × 20 in. (101.6 × 50.8 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Costumes
Credit Line: Purchase, Irene Lewisohn and Alice L. Crowley Bequests, 1983
Object Number: 1983.158a–c
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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