Okura Shukokan Special Exhibition Hatanaka Mitsusuke Collection "Indian Textiles in Love - Cloths Fluttered to the World"

India has been a cotton country since ancient times. It is difficult to dye cotton, which is a plant fiber, in beautiful colors, and before the 17th century, there was no other country other than India that had the technique of making cloth that vividly develops red and yellow colors and does not fade even when washed. In this exhibition, we focus on the spread of Indian fabric, which was exported to the world through trade and underwent changes, and introduce cloths that have been brought to Europe, Indonesia, Thailand, Persia, Japan, etc., and have undergone changes in each region.

In the exhibition, you will see textile printing cloth known as "chintz", textile printing cloth called palampole with exotic patterns of rich colors that traveled to Europe, and a finely woven Kashmiri shawl that is said to take at least three years to make one piece. Above all, you will enjoy the breadth and depth of Indian dyeing and weaving, such as gold and silver thread weaving used in courts and temples in India, intricate tie-dyed turbans and high-quality cotton muslin that we do not even know the technique of today.