[HN Gopher] Hokusai Moyo Gafu: an album of dyeing patterns
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       Hokusai Moyo Gafu: an album of dyeing patterns
        
       Author : fanf2
       Score  : 121 points
       Date   : 2025-06-09 14:42 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp)
 (TXT) w3m dump (ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp)
        
       | srean wrote:
       | I never knew Hokusai had interest in these.
       | 
       | Does anyone know if he had seen any Islamic tiling art ? Or for
       | that matter if Escher had seen any of his.
       | 
       | Group theory / symmetry runs deep through these. One [0] of the
       | circular ones made me think of braid(group)s. Not sure what the *
       | operator would be in that case.
       | 
       | Speaking of braid groups Richeson had a very interesting blog
       | post on the braid like groups of maypole dances.
       | 
       | Let me find and submit separately (spoiling a Hokusai story with
       | another story, no matter how interesting, would be a personal
       | sacrilege). Found it [1][2].
       | 
       | [0] https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1899550/1/10/
       | 
       | [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44225324
       | 
       | [2]https://divisbyzero.com/2009/05/04/the-maypole-braid-group/
        
         | bradly wrote:
         | About halfway through there is a pattern depicting birds behind
         | a chain link fence that he did possibly the same year the chain
         | link fence was invented in the United Kingdom.
        
           | srean wrote:
           | So Banksy of his time to do that.
        
       | uwagar wrote:
       | is it the same hokusai of the giant wave fame?
        
         | Hoasi wrote:
         | Yes.
        
       | PaulHoule wrote:
       | The Metropolitan Museum has books of fabric samples for kimonos
       | with colorful and complex patterns but unfortunately I could only
       | find pictures of kimonos:
       | 
       | https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354838
       | 
       | https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=kimono+jap...
       | 
       | People had kimonos with crazy prints throughout the Heian,
       | warring states and Tokugawa periods.
        
         | 0xbadcafebee wrote:
         | Nice! I haven't seen these before, woodblock prints depicting
         | foreigners in Japan:
         | https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=kimono+jap...
         | 
         | I think this is my favorite, Foreign Business Establishment in
         | Yokohama: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/73415
        
       | Beijinger wrote:
       | Is there a PDF Version for download?
        
         | pvg wrote:
         | If you google the title it seems to find some more downloady
         | variants.
        
           | Beijinger wrote:
           | Mostly is unrelated stuff.
           | 
           | An original would be available:
           | https://www.ebay.com/itm/126788233431
        
         | bradly wrote:
         | Yes. https://dl.ndl.go.jp/en/pid/1899550/1/2
        
       | ossicones wrote:
       | Does anyone know how are these patterns were intended to be
       | applied? It seems like they might be block printed, but the fact
       | that they're called "dyeing patterns" makes me think of some kind
       | of resist or shibori.
        
         | dole wrote:
         | I was curious myself, so I'd think resist printing such as [0]
         | Katazome or [1] Roketsuzome, using wax wheels. I feel like
         | shibori would be tough for pattern accuracy but considering the
         | craftsmanship I wouldn't be surprised to be wrong.
         | 
         | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katazome [1]
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C5%8Dketsuzome
         | 
         | I have a very similar tattered thread-bound book of these style
         | of kimono patterns at home but I don't think they're from
         | Hokusai.
        
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       (page generated 2025-06-09 23:00 UTC)