紺木綿地素戔嗚尊模様火消袢纏|Fireman’s Jacket (Hikeshi-Banten) with Susanoo-no-mikoto Deity Scene

Unknown

mid-19th century · Quilted cotton with tube-drawn paste-resist dyeing (tsutsugaki) with hand-painted details · Asian Art

Decoration was important to firefighters’ garments, which were far from purely utilitarian uniforms. Firefighters enjoyed respect and high status in urban Japan, especially in Edo, where wood architecture and crowded living conditions led to frequent outbreaks of fire. Commoners wore reversible coats (hikeshi-banten) made of thick, quilted cotton fabric, with a plain indigo-dyed exterior and an elaborately decorated interior. The inside of the quilted jacket here depicts a climactic scene from a legend recorded in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters, ca. 711): Susanoo-no-mikoto, the younger brother of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, saves the eighth and last daughter of an elderly couple from being taken by a monstrous serpent. Trousers and an inner jacket complete this set; gloves and socks as well as head gear of the same material would also have been part of the ensemble.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-19th century

Medium

Quilted cotton with tube-drawn paste-resist dyeing (tsutsugaki) with hand-painted details

Culture

Japanese

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Irene Lewisohn and Alice L. Crowley Bequests, 1983