  About the Artwork
  
  
  Restrained, formal, and masked, Nō dramas developed into the national theater of Japan under the patronage of shoguns. An all-male cast of performers combine mime, music, chant, and costume. The drama is set against an austere and unchanging stage with a lone, ancient pine painted on the back wall; robes set the mood. An actor’s inspired selection of a costume signifies masterful role interpretation. 
 
This robe is Karaori, an outer robe generally used for women’s roles and the most resplendent of all Nō costumes. Originally, karaori, meaning “Chinese weaving,” described imported, figured fabrics; later it referred to elaborate brocades woven in the Nishijin district of Kyoto. The contrasting types of silk give this robe extraordinary subtlety and depth. This robe, with a design of butterflies, chrysanthemums, and grasses, was used for plays in which autumnal imagery was prominent.
  
  
  Title
  Noh Theater Robe, Karaori Type
  
  
  Artwork Date
  18th century
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Japanese
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Metallic and silk brocade, silk
  
  
  Dimensions
  59 3/4 × 53 5/8 inches (151.8 × 136.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Costumes
  
  
  Department
  Asian Art
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Henry Ford II Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  1984.23
  
  
  Copyright
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