Changes

[[File:Hanagasa.jpg|right|thumb|320px|''Hanagasa'' dancers in ''bingata'' robes]]

[[File:Hanagasa.jpg|right|thumb|320px|''Hanagasa'' dancers in ''bingata'' robes]]

[[File:Ryusen.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Bolts of cloth being hand-dyed at a workshop in Shuri]]

[[File:Ryusen.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Bolts of cloth being hand-dyed at a workshop in Shuri]]

*''Other Names'': 形付 ''(katachiki, O: katatikii)''

*''Other Names'': 形付 ''(katachiki, O: katatikii)'', 花布 ''(Ch.: huā bù)''

*''Japanese'': 紅型 ''(bingata)''

*''Japanese'': 紅型 ''(bingata)''

''Bingata'' is an Okinawan resist-dye [[Ryukyuan textiles|textile]] design technique, involving bold, colorful patterns, often involving flowers, and often on a red or yellow ground. Traditionally, ''bingata'' garments were strictly limited to the Ryukyuan royalty and [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|aristocracy]].[[Yanagi Soetsu|Yanagi Sôetsu]] began promoting ''bingata'' as folk craft (''[[mingei]]'') in 1938, however, praising it alongside other Okinawan and Korean arts as a quaint, exotic, art produced by anonymous folk weavers and evocative of a simpler time; as a result, ''bingata's'' aristocratic associations have been all but lost today in the popular consciousness.<ref>Nitta Setsuko, "Oppression of and Admiration for Okinawan Textiles: Commercial Items and Art Objects," Okinawan Art in its Regional Context symposium, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 10 Oct 2019.</ref>

''Bingata'' is an Okinawan resist-dye [[Ryukyuan textiles|textile]] design technique, involving bold, colorful patterns, often involving flowers, and often on a red or yellow ground. Traditionally, ''bingata'' garments were strictly limited to the Ryukyuan royalty and [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|aristocracy]].[[Yanagi Soetsu|Yanagi Sôetsu]] began promoting ''bingata'' as folk craft (''[[mingei]]'') in 1938, however, praising it alongside other Okinawan and Korean arts as a quaint, exotic, art produced by anonymous folk weavers and evocative of a simpler time; as a result, ''bingata's'' aristocratic associations have been all but lost today in the popular consciousness.<ref>Nitta Setsuko, "Oppression of and Admiration for Okinawan Textiles: Commercial Items and Art Objects," Okinawan Art in its Regional Context symposium, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 10 Oct 2019.</ref>

''Bingata'' techniques and styles as known and celebrated today are said to have reached their mature phase by the end of the 17th century; though various dyeing techniques and styles existed in Ryûkyû prior to that time, it was only in the [[Edo period|early modern period]] that the particular techniques and styles today associated with "bingata" developed. The term ''bingata'', meanwhile, only became widely used in the late 19th or early 20th century; prior to that, the term ''katatikii'' (J: ''katachiki''), roughly meaning "with designs added," was the term most commonly used in Ryûkyû.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 158.</ref>

''Bingata'' techniques and styles as known and celebrated today are said to have reached their mature phase by the end of the 17th century; though various dyeing techniques and styles existed in Ryûkyû prior to that time, it was only in the [[Edo period|early modern period]] that the particular techniques and styles today associated with "bingata" developed. The term ''bingata'', meanwhile, only became widely used in the late 19th or early 20th century; prior to that, the term ''katatikii'' (J: ''katachiki''), roughly meaning "applying designs," was the term most commonly used in Ryûkyû.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 158.</ref> ''Huā bù'', or "floral cloth," was often used in Chinese-language sources referring to the Ryukyuan product.<ref name=chen92>Buyun Chen, "The Craft of Color and the Chemistry of Dyes: Textile Technology in the Ryukyu Kingdom, 1700–1900," ''Technology and Culture'' 63:1 (January 2022), 92.</ref>

Roughly 41 ''bingata'' garments associated with the royal family survive today,<ref>Along with fifteen ''orimono'' (woven garments) and one embroidered garment.</ref> including several which have been designated [[National Treasures]]. They are defined as ''bingata'' by the dyeing technique, and include garments made from a variety of materials.

Roughly 41 ''bingata'' garments associated with the royal family survive today,<ref>Along with fifteen ''orimono'' (woven garments) and one embroidered garment.</ref> including several which have been designated [[National Treasures]]. They are defined as ''bingata'' by the dyeing technique, and include garments made from a variety of materials.

In the early modern period, up until the [[Ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]] in the 1870s, three lineages dominated the formal production of ''bingata'' for the royal court: the Takushi, Gusukuma (now known as Shiroma), and Chinen families. Members of the Shiroma and Chinen families remain today leaders in maintaining and promoting the tradition.

In the early modern period, up until the [[Ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]] in the 1870s, three lineages dominated the formal production of ''bingata'' for the royal court: the Takushi, Gusukuma (now known as Shiroma), and Chinen families. Members of the Shiroma and Chinen families remain today leaders in maintaining and promoting the tradition.

Takushi Jino was a young up-and-coming craftsman in the royal court when it was abolished in the 1870s; in the 1920s, at the age of 61, he was interviewed by scholar [[Kamakura Yoshitaro|Kamakura Yoshitarô]], providing one significant portion of Kamakura's defining prewar study on ''bingata''. Sadly, by the 1920s, Takushi had unbound family records on dyeing techniques and had used the pages in wall screens, an indication of just how far traditional craft had fallen from its place of importance.<ref>Buyun Chen, "The Craft of Color and the Chemistry of Dyes: Textile Technology in the Ryukyu Kingdom, 1700–1900," ''Technology and Culture'' 63:1 (January 2022), 88.</ref>

Takushi Jino was a young up-and-coming craftsman in the royal court when it was abolished in the 1870s; in the 1920s, at the age of 61, he was interviewed by scholar [[Kamakura Yoshitaro|Kamakura Yoshitarô]], providing one significant portion of Kamakura's defining prewar study on ''bingata''. Sadly, by the 1920s, Takushi had unbound family records on dyeing techniques and had used the pages in wall screens, an indication of just how far traditional craft had fallen from its place of importance.<ref>Chen, 88.</ref>

Shiroma Eiki and Chinen Sekihiro, descendants of court craftsmen, led a revival of ''bingata'' during the post-WWII Occupation period, with the support of the American Occupation authorities, who sought to patronize and promote Ryukyuan culture.<ref>Chen, 92.</ref> They and/or their successors have been named [[Living National Treasure]]s or otherwise formally recognized as "holders" of this cultural tradition.

Shiroma Eiki and Chinen Sekihiro, descendants of court craftsmen, led a revival of ''bingata'' during the post-WWII Occupation period, with the support of the American Occupation authorities, who sought to patronize and promote Ryukyuan culture.<ref name=chen92/> They and/or their successors have been named [[Living National Treasure]]s or otherwise formally recognized as "holders" of this cultural tradition.

==References==

==References==