Boro: The Art of Mending
Boro means rags. In the poor farming and fishing villages of northern Japan, cloth was too precious to waste. Families patched and re-patched clothing and bedding for generations, adding new scraps of indigo-dyed cotton and hemp over the old and stitching them together. What survives looks today like abstract art, and boro has become one of the most admired Japanese textiles in the world.
Why boro was made
In the cold north, cotton could not be grown, and for much of the Edo period ordinary people wore hemp. Cotton arrived as second-hand cloth and scraps carried from the south, and every piece was used until it fell apart. A boro futon cover or work coat might contain fabrics from several generations, mended by successive mothers and grandmothers.
Forms of boro
- Futon covers. Large patchworks of many layers, often the most visually striking pieces.
- Work coats. Heavy coats for farming and fishing, reinforced with dense stitching.
- Sleeping sheets and wrapping cloths. Smaller pieces used in daily life.
Stitching
Boro is held together by running stitches known as sashiko, little stabs that reinforce the cloth and add warmth. In Aomori, two counted-thread techniques developed into decorative arts: kogin, white geometric patterns on dark hemp from the Tsugaru area, and hishizashi, diamond patterns from the Nanbu area.
Recognising genuine boro
- Narrow cloth. Old Japanese cloth was woven on narrow looms, typically around 35 centimetres wide.
- Hand-spun, hand-woven fabric. Uneven threads and irregular weave are signs of age.
- Natural fading. Indigo fades unevenly where it was used and washed, not in uniform patches.
- Layers of repair. Real boro shows repairs on top of repairs, with different thread and stitching styles.
- Wear in the right places. Elbows, shoulders, hems and the centre of futon covers.
The popularity of boro has encouraged new pieces made from old fabric scraps, sometimes artificially aged. They can be attractive, but they should be described honestly.
Display and care
- Display boro away from direct sun, which fades indigo quickly.
- Mount large pieces on a padded board or hang them from a sleeve, spreading the weight evenly.
- Never machine-wash boro. Remove dust gently with a low-suction vacuum through a mesh screen.
- Store rolled on a tube with acid-free tissue rather than folded.