National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

At the Amano Shrine (Nifutsuhime Shrine) at Kongōbuji Temple in Wakayama Prefecture, it was a custom to perform Bugaku dances for the gods. The costumes worn in this dance, dating back to the Muromachi period (1392–1573), have been preserved to this day. The ryōtō is a sleeveless kantō robe worn in the hashirimai dance. The edges are decorated with dyed silk threads, tied with a flat braid, and held down with pins. The torso is made of satin brocade with a design made of only plain gold threads. Since the gold brocades were produced in Japan only from the Edo period (1603–1868), this gold brocade may have been imported from China. The double vine entangles with cloud-shaped leaves in slightly clumsy arcs. It is reminiscent of an ancient peony-flower pattern (inishiezama). "The 16th day in the third month of the 4th year of the Eiwa Era (1378)” is written in the lining, indicating that the gold brocade was made at the end of the Yuan dynasty (1368–1644) in China. During the Yuan Dynasty, many gold brocades were three-layered. After the Ming dynasty (1644–1912), the full-scale production of satin brocades began in China. This work has attracted attention as a rare example of gold brocade in a transitional period.