nobori bata cloth, Japan, Meiji (c.1880), cm 284x33. a textile banner used for celebrating Boys' Festival, a Japanese festivity occurring every year early May. This one has a typical 19th century narrow size, and depicts the family crest in the upper part and a crisply rendered winter scenery down to the bottom. Tsutsugaki technique on handspun cotton. a gorgeous witness of Japanese traditions.