Inventory #J17-5245

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Late 18^th or ear­ly 19^th cen­tu­ry Japan­ese, ramie ground monk’s rit­u­al vest­ment, with silk thread rein­forced stitch­ing, Bud­dhist, Zen sect. Prob­a­bly for sum­mer use. Called a kesa, this gar­ment is the most sacred gar­ment worn by ordained Zen monks. Ramie is one of the old­est fiber crops, hav­ing been used for at least six thou­sand years, and is prin­ci­pal­ly used for fab­ric pro­duc­tion. It is a bast fiber, and the part used is the bark (phloem) of the veg­e­ta­tive stalks.

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