July 22, 2005
Turnout Art?
Google News pointed me to this odd but interesting story. I prefer fire tee shirts as wearable art (some would say my current uniform) but I do find collections of any sort interesting.
Firecoats as Japanese Art
By Sara Pearce; Cincinnati.com
"Just like today's firefighters, Japanese firefighters of the 17th and 18th centuries wore a kind of uniform that not only identified them as firefighters but also as members of a particular unit. Unlike today, the coats were cotton and were stenciled, painted and dyed with a squad's pattern, then tightly quilted. Many reversed to a ceremonial side with fantastic designs plucked from ancient stories, and depicted strong and determined creatures or historic heroes.
Dozens of examples of the coats are on display now in the beautifully-designed exhibit, Hanten and Happi, at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It's the last stop for the touring collection before it returns to Japan. Hanten are the larger, heavy firefighter coats; happi are smaller, lighter, everyday work coats. We picked a hanten with its ceremonial side out and asked Cindy Amneus, the museum's associate curator of costume and textile, to explain more about the coats.
1. The custom-made hanten coats were made with three layers of home-spun cotton of the same thickness and quality. They were sewn by the firefighter or someone in his family until the mid-19th century, when commercial production began.
Hantens were soaked with water to allow firefighters to get close to the fire. A fully-soaked coat weighed close to 84 pounds and would usually be dry by the time a fire was out.
2. The fabric was reinforced via hand quilting known as sashiko stitching. Using a running stitch with four stitches to the inch, the three layers were sewn together in close horizontal rows almost like tucks. This shortened the coats, which artists had to factor into their designs, along with shrinkage during dying and washing.
3. Coats were dyed in vats of indigo, which produced blues in varying hues similar to today's blue jeans. Indigo is made from the Indigofera genus of plants (part of the pea family) and was plentiful.
4. Some hantens were painted after dying but others, like this one, were tsutsugaki dyed. During this process, a design was drawn onto the fabric using a natural extract that disappeared when washed. Color pigments were painted onto the fabric, then, painted over with rice paste, which resisted the dye. Areas that would be white were painted with rice paste only. For fine lines and borders, rice paste was squeezed out of a funnel, like icing from an icing bag.
5. In this design, the muscular Kintaro holds a struggling carp.
Kintaro, whose name translates as "Golden Boy," is a popular Japanese folk hero of unusual strength who was raised among animals and is often depicted as a boy even though he grew up to become a famous warrior. Carps, which leap treacherous waters to spawn, are considered good luck and symbolize strength and perseverance. Other auspicious animals include cranes, hawks and foxes.
6. The ceremonial side was turned to the outside and worn during the celebrations and parades that often occurred after a fire was extinguished. This side also was worn at festivals and during formal condolence visits."
Tag: firefighter collectables
Firecoats as Japanese Art
By Sara Pearce; Cincinnati.com
"Just like today's firefighters, Japanese firefighters of the 17th and 18th centuries wore a kind of uniform that not only identified them as firefighters but also as members of a particular unit. Unlike today, the coats were cotton and were stenciled, painted and dyed with a squad's pattern, then tightly quilted. Many reversed to a ceremonial side with fantastic designs plucked from ancient stories, and depicted strong and determined creatures or historic heroes.
Dozens of examples of the coats are on display now in the beautifully-designed exhibit, Hanten and Happi, at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It's the last stop for the touring collection before it returns to Japan. Hanten are the larger, heavy firefighter coats; happi are smaller, lighter, everyday work coats. We picked a hanten with its ceremonial side out and asked Cindy Amneus, the museum's associate curator of costume and textile, to explain more about the coats.
1. The custom-made hanten coats were made with three layers of home-spun cotton of the same thickness and quality. They were sewn by the firefighter or someone in his family until the mid-19th century, when commercial production began.
Hantens were soaked with water to allow firefighters to get close to the fire. A fully-soaked coat weighed close to 84 pounds and would usually be dry by the time a fire was out.
2. The fabric was reinforced via hand quilting known as sashiko stitching. Using a running stitch with four stitches to the inch, the three layers were sewn together in close horizontal rows almost like tucks. This shortened the coats, which artists had to factor into their designs, along with shrinkage during dying and washing.
3. Coats were dyed in vats of indigo, which produced blues in varying hues similar to today's blue jeans. Indigo is made from the Indigofera genus of plants (part of the pea family) and was plentiful.
4. Some hantens were painted after dying but others, like this one, were tsutsugaki dyed. During this process, a design was drawn onto the fabric using a natural extract that disappeared when washed. Color pigments were painted onto the fabric, then, painted over with rice paste, which resisted the dye. Areas that would be white were painted with rice paste only. For fine lines and borders, rice paste was squeezed out of a funnel, like icing from an icing bag.
5. In this design, the muscular Kintaro holds a struggling carp.
Kintaro, whose name translates as "Golden Boy," is a popular Japanese folk hero of unusual strength who was raised among animals and is often depicted as a boy even though he grew up to become a famous warrior. Carps, which leap treacherous waters to spawn, are considered good luck and symbolize strength and perseverance. Other auspicious animals include cranes, hawks and foxes.
6. The ceremonial side was turned to the outside and worn during the celebrations and parades that often occurred after a fire was extinguished. This side also was worn at festivals and during formal condolence visits."
Tag: firefighter collectables
