the discussion to follow, it will be helpful to the reader to review the four most essential and frequently discussed textile elements, namely kinran (brocades employing gold-backed paper threads), patterned weaves, chirimen (silk crepe), and birōdo (velvet).
Kinran refers to a supplementary brocade weaving technique imported originally from China which employs strips of paper backed with gold leaf which are then woven into the fabric to form discontinuous weft patterns. Patterns created from kinran varied from elaborate roundels of dragons chasing flaming pearls, to floral elements, to more geometric designs. The light-reflective qualities of the gold kinran and silver ginran made textiles created in this manner highly desirable. Kinran brocades were employed extensively in the vestments for Buddhist priests and altar hangings, Noh and Kabuki costumes, as well as an array of luxury textiles for the upper classes. Up until the fifteenth century, kinran textiles were imported from China at great expense, limiting their use and availability in Japan. Once Japanese weavers were able to master the techniques involved in its manufacture, kinran became more affordable and its use more widespread. This textile form found wonderful expression in the costuming for ningyō of all categories, conveying an added sense of beauty and luxury, a quality referred to as kekkō, a word that was frequently used in government sumptuary regulations restricting the use of kinran and other luxury textiles. The government, in keeping with the Confucian ethic of frugality and keeping ones place, advocated ningyō that were more karoku, meaning "light" or "simple."
Not all textile patterning was done through the use of brocade, supplemental embroidery, or dyeing. A long-standing tradition dating to early court practices is the use of compound weaves to create subtly patterned fabrics. Many of the patterns employed by the nobility were restricted and could not be employed outside of court circles without permission. Some of these early designs which are frequently encountered in ningyō textiles include the kikkō (tortoiseshell) pattern with its mosaic of hexagonal shapes, the hanabishi (diamond flower) pattern, the kani-arare (checkerboard) pattern, and the tatewaku (undulating line) pattern. By the Edo period, with the advent of more sophisticated patterning techniques, the early restrictions regarding these designs were largely moot and they were employed extensively in ningyō textiles. Compound weave textiles were used to their greatest effect in hina-ningyō, particularly in a subcategory known as yūsoku-bina which attempted to closely emulate the textiles worn by the nobility.
Chirimen is a silk crepe employed in many of the ningyō presented in this volume, whether as an outer fabric on the primary garment, employed in inner layers, or used as an accent element.
The highly textured surface of the silk crepe is achieved through the extreme twisting of either the warp or the weft threads. Chirimen is a version of crepe with a particular variation in the twists of the weft. Like kinran, it was initially imported from China until Japanese weavers mastered its production, becoming particularly popular as a base material for dyeing in the early part of the Edo period. Frequently dyed red from benibana (safflower), chirimen textiles dominate certain genres of ningyō and were used most extensively on the bibs of gosho-ningyō and in the decorated sleeves of many ishō-ningyō and Takeda-ningyō.
The final textile element that deserves special mention is birōdo (velvet). Like kinran and chirimen, velvet was originally an imported textile, but rather than originating from Chinese weaving traditions, birōdo came to Japan via Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century. The term itself is a corruption of the Spanish word for velvet, velludo. It was also known as betchin or velveteen. Birōdo was considered a decidedly luxurious fabric and in ningyō was used primarily as an accent element. It is found most consistently on Takeda-ningyō of the nineteenth century where it is used on the long eri (collars) of jackets, on sleeves, and on decorative panels running down the fronts of inner garments. Rather than being left plain, these birōdo elements frequently received additional embroidered treatments, or were embossed with metal appliqués. The iron mordant used to achieve the black color generally accelerated the deterioration of the material. As a consequence, birōdo fabrics often exhibit more wear than surrounding fabrics on the same piece.
Gofun
Like Buddhist sculptures, the bodies of ningyō were rarely left in a raw wood state but received various decorative treatments. The lustrous white found on the faces, hands, and bodies of many Japanese dolls is created from a material known as gofun. It is considered to be perhaps one of the most singularly defining characteristics of ningyō, one with no equivalent in any other culture. Gofun is a white composite paste made from crushed oyster shells and animal based glue (nikawa) mixed with water. When applied flat, it functions as a simple white pigment. When applied to hard surfaces and burnished, it creates a resilient, lacquer-like surface, very smooth, with a lustrous sheen. The glue element in the gofun mixture also gives it a plastic quality which allows it to be worked and molded to a small degree, creating raised lines and surfaces, and even minimal amounts of carving. Gofun has been used in Buddhist sculpture since the Kamakura period (1185-1333), where it was applied to the bodies of certain deities and used extensively on their carved garments. The makers of Noh masks have used gofun since the Muromachi period (1392-1573) to provide the lustrous white faces of many characters. Artists working on surfaces such as folding screens (byōbu), sliding door panels (fusuma), and architectural painting employed gofun as a matte pigment as well as using its plastic qualities to create raised design elements within the paintings in a technique called moriage. Lacquer artists valued these same properties and used gofun to create many of the raised design elements that graced a wide variety of utilitarian and decorative objects. Ningyō artists also utilized gofun extensively, burnishing it to a high sheen on the bodies, hands, and faces, giving these figures a heightened sense of beauty and mystery as well as greatly enhancing their appeal. In the construction of faces and hands on ningyō, gofun proved to be an excellent material to help create the finer detail elements of the face, including eyes, nose, and mouth. Rather than fully carving these aspects in the core wood, the artist could use the gofun much the way lacquer artists did to create the subtly raised lines demarcating the eyelids or lips, and building it up even higher to create the nose. Additional red and black pigments were added to further refine and delineate the feature.
Traces of white pigment have been found on certain haniwa figures dating from the sixth century, indicating the presence of native white pigments from at least the Kofun period. One of the earliest documented white pigments employed by Japanese artists and artisans was a lead-based pigment called impaku, introduced from China during the Nara period. Impaku was used extensively in all manner of applications, from architectural painting to sculpture, to devotional painting. However, the lead-based impaku tended to oxidize over time in Japans humid climate, limiting its appeal. The exact date of the introduction of gofun into Japan is unknown, but by the Kamakura period it began to replace impaku as a preferred source for white pigment in many media. Its plastic qualities gave gofun a wider range of applications than traditional white impaku. The "go" in gofun means "barbarian" and implies that the technique of manufacturing gofun was imported through China from points further west along the Silk Road.
Gofun is produced from oysters, particularly a variety known as itabogaki. The oysters are harvested and the shells left to dry in the sun in order to help leach out sodium and any remaining organic matter. Over time the hard surface of the shell softens and becomes chalky The upper and lower segments are then separated. Working with only the outside of the shell, the softened shell is then partially ground using a tool called a kai garuma (shell wheel), which further removes impurities. The remaining shells are then crushed and water is used to sluice and separate the elements. The ground shell fragments are then passed through a series of screens and left to dry in the sun. The result is a fine powder that when mixed with an animal-based paste forms an applicable white pigment. In doll and mask manufacture, a series of layers is applied, and each layer is burnished. The shell element in the gofun responds to the burnishing, yielding a lustrous quality not found in impaku. Repeated applications and burnishing result in a surface that is surprisingly durable, with a bright procelaneous sheen. Yet, it remains entirely water soluble and can be easily removed with a wet rag. During the Edo period, gofun production was centered in the Edokawachi section of Kyoto. Today, it is centered in Uji.
