Over Robe (Uchikake) with Mount Hōrai
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This uchikake was one of a set of three luxurious over robes—white, red, and black, all with matching designs—worn by a samurai bride. Decorated with auspicious patterns to summon good fortune and a happy marriage, such sets were specially ordered for the wedding and typically worn only once. For the ceremony, the bride wore all white, symbolizing her resolve to be a gentle and obedient wife. After the ritual drinking of sake, she changed into colorful garments (ironaoshi) from the groom for the celebratory banquet. This red robe evokes Penglai, the mythological Chinese mountain of eternal life, known in Japan as Mount Hōrai. Japanese depictions of the legendary site were stylized as gatherings of cranes and long-tailed tortoises set in a bright landscape dominated by pine and plum trees, and bamboo stalks.
Artwork Details
- 赤綸子地松竹梅鶴亀模様打掛
- Title: Over Robe (Uchikake) with Mount Hōrai
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: mid-19th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Figured satin-weave silk (rinzu) with paste-resist dyeing, stencil-dyed dots (suri-bitta), silk embroidery, and couched gold and silver thread
- Dimensions: 66 × 49 in. (167.6 × 124.5 cm)
- Classification: Costumes
- Credit Line: Lent by John C. Weber Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art