Sakabukuro, Japan, early Showa (c.1930), 75x24cm. Prior to Japan's industrialization, cotton bags permeated with persimmon tannin (kaki shibu) were used in the production of sake. Crude sake, or sake lees, filled this sakabukuro (sake bag/pocket), and under pressure, filtered sake was forced out. Used countless times, these hand-sewn bags required mending, and the eccentric stitches and patching on this particular piece are evidence of its hard life. Sakabukuro, especially the heavily mended variety, are extremely collectible textiles in Japan and abroad. This is a beautiful and heavily textured sakabukuro that probably dates to the time before the Second World War or so. Note the unfinished, ragged edges and the lovely crude white cotton stitching and mending which make the piece the attractive thing it is. Unusual, beautiful and desirable.