Rozashi -- Traditional Japanese Embroidery by Maggie Backman
Originally published in Needle Pointers, Volume X, Number 1, Spring 1982
Editor's Note-Maggie Backman is an author, lecturer and teacher of Rozashi and Japanese textile design. She is certified through the Valentine Museum and teaches at National and Regional seminars as well as local guilds throughout the United States. Photography by John Backman.
| Rozashi is a Japanese embroidery, very orthodox in nature, that may be new to many "Western eyes," but it is in fact, a very ancient type of Japanese ornamentation. The Japanese translate the word "Rozashi" to mean a puncturing (sashi) of the canvas (Ro). The origin has been traced to the Nara period (619 - 960 A.D.) of Japanese history. This little known technique, which utilizes traditional Japanese patterns and symbols as the design elements, is embroidered with a twisted silk thread which completely covers a special gauze-type woven silk canvas or "Ro." Rozashi was executed by courtesan ladies of the royal courts and reached the climax of its existence during the life of Count Li, Lord of Hikone during the Edo and Meiji periods. Many young Japanese girls learned Rozashi as a part of their formal training and preparation for marriage, although it seems to have lost its popularity in the past fifty years. |
|
 |
 |
The Ro weave of the scrim is unique. It
is woven with three threads twisted and crossed with the
warp threads to establish a small hole, which is the
basis for the stitching technique that will cover the
silk canvas. The scrim-like canvas has 37-40 threads to
an inch horizontally and the small hole established by
the weave enables the embroiderer to execute the surface
design much easier than if the scrim were evenly woven.
The three horizontal threads are called "dan"
and only eleven of these dan are counted vertically per
inch, thus making the canvas three times as high as it is
wide. Because of the unevenly woven Ro, Rozashi stitches are vertical and lineal in nature. Counted thread stitches, similar to gobelin, brick, and Florentine, have been naturally employed for use on this unique canvas. If horizontal stitches are desired, the Ro is then fastened to the frame horizontally rather than vertically. The silk scrim must be attached to a lightweight hand-held frame by a special adhesive, made of seaweed. This same glue is also applied to the back of the completed Rozashi piece for blocking purposes. The needle used for Rozashi is similar to the flat headed round eyed needle employed by the Chinese centuries before. |
| Close up photo of Ro and Rozashi flat headed needle and the highly twisted Rozashi thread. | ||
| The Chinese had learned to manipulate
the degree of twist in their silk threads as a design and
texture element for their decorative embroidery, but
there is no evidence that the highly pre-twisted threads
used for Rozashi came from either China or Korea. We have
seen many beautiful examples of the gauze-type weaves
used by the Chinese for their ornamentation, however, the
uniquely woven Ro seems to have been a Japanese textile
development. This same weave is used, even today, for the
light weight summer kimono fabric; however, the
construction of the weave is fortified with stronger silk
threads and it is not highly starched as the Rozashi
scrim. Rozashi has seldom been seen outside of Japan and it is not commonly encountered even when visiting that country. Many Japanese do not know the term Rozashi, but they do recognize the jewel-like embroidery. Today in Japan you will find this needle art employed as appliqués for kimonos and obis, framed pictures, small purses, belts and other accessories that enhance their native dress. When applied to the kimono or obi fabric it often appears to be an integral part of the textile design. Very little has been written and documented concerning this unusual ethnic embroidery, and no record has been made of its exact origin. An excellent article appeared in the English printed Ikebana Magazine International, Spring of 1970, written by Lucille Hurley and Tayeko Hirai. To my knowledge few books have ever been written on the subject, even in Japan. |
 Traditional Rozashi stitches worked on the unique canvas. |
 An Imari designed and executed by Maggie Backman. |
I made my discovery of Rozashi in the
spring of 1977, even though I had lived in Japan for two
years previous to that time. I encountered five
beautifully stitched medallions appliquéd to an old obi,
in the obi collection of my Japanese language teacher and
her family. Coincidentally, I found a few samples of
Rozashi displayed in a Tokyo department store, which
subsequently led me to my Rozashi lessons with master
teacher Kunimitzu and daughter assistant, Fumiko Ozaki,
in Meguro, a suburb of Tokyo. I commuted from the island
of Guam to receive my two years of formal training. Since
returning to the United States and teaching Rozashi, I
have found a great fascination in our country for this
little known embroidery. In the fall of 1980, Fumiko Ozaki visited our country, traveling with me and observing the enthusiasm for this lovely stitchery. She has since returned to Japan to convey to the other Rozashi teachers our great attraction to their lovely ornamentation. She hopes to encourage the continued teaching of Rozashi, and the promotion and artistic pursuit of this "fragile" Japanese art form. |
Maggie Backman has provided an addendum that describes her work in the years since this article was originally written.