Indigo Dyed Cotton and Hemp

This exceptional boro hanten exemplifies the highest level of Japanese textile repair and reuse traditions. A hanten is a short, workwear jacket traditionally worn by laborers and farmers, while boro (meaning “tattered” or “repaired”) refers to textiles that were repeatedly patched, layered, and reinforced over generations to extend their use.

Constructed entirely from small fragments of indigo-dyed cloth stitched together with indigo-dyed hemp thread, this garment embodies both extraordinary craftsmanship and material history. The dense patchwork surface reveals countless repairs, varied woven textures, and layers of hand-stitched reinforcement accumulated through decades of wear.

Dating from the mid-to-late 19th century and possibly as early as the late Edo period, the jacket is considered by specialists to be an exceptionally rare example of early boro clothing. Textile experts, including Dai Williams, have noted that the garment appears not to be a repaired coat, but rather one intentionally constructed from fragments from the outset—an exceedingly uncommon characteristic. Exhibited in Europe and Asia, this boro hanten stands as a remarkable surviving example of Japanese folk textile culture and the aesthetics of endurance, utility, and preservation.

• Japão a Cru, Boro: O Tecido da Vida, Museu do Design e da Moda, Lisbon Portugual

• Boro: Stoffe des Lebens, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne, Germany

• Boro: The Fabric of Life, Domaine de Boisbuchet, Lessac, France