TWO shibori oshime CLOTHs, Japan, early Showa (circa 1930), cm 133x34 each. Japan's blue-and-white cotton textiles are regularly associated with its traditional rural culture, and those obtained via the so-called ‘shibori’ technique do reach the pinnacles of this “country textiles” class. Shibori is a general term which encompasses a wide range of shape-resist dyeing techniques including tie-and-dye, binding, stitching, pleating and clamping, etc. and it describes the inherent patterning process of manipulating the two-dimensional cloth surface into three-dimensional shapes before compressing them to dye, thus creating surface patterns, some extremely intricate and innovative. These two indigo shibori ‘oshime’ hand-woven cottons are an excellent example of this, with their folded and stitched ‘orinui’ and ‘makiage’ thread-wrappings, a rather uncommon feature than the usual clamp-dyed patterns seen on contemporary shibori cloths. Possibly obtained by deconstructing a summer kimono (yukata), they show a good condition and a nice rendition of bamboo plant and leaves. Lovely and ethereal objects. An unusual addition to any collection of Japanese indigo cottons, or a good starting point for such a task.