futonji, Japan, Meiji (circa 1900), cm 142x124. Bedding cover, whose rich green colour was achieved by over-dyeing indigo with a yellow dye. It is made of four hand-spun, hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton cloths joined together. The large central family crest (komon) has been obtained via ‘tsutsugaki’ technique, and shows a schematic representation of a ‘plum blossom’. This is the ‘external’ side of a futonji bag possibly used as winter bedding, as in the back (see detail image) remnants of cotton filling (easy to remove with a wet brush) are still visible. The item has been used over the years, but it is showing only minimal age wrinkles. a visually bold object, with a lovely rugged character.