Buddhist Priest’s Stole (ōhi) with Design of Coiled Dragons, Lion-dogs, Peonies, and Chrysanthemums

This long rectangular garment features a complex arrangement of coiled dragons, lion-dogs, peonies, and chrysanthemums. A geometric lattice filled with various floral and scroll motifs is layered underneath. This technique is known as nishiki, a term describing textiles woven with several threads to create patterns and often translated as “brocade.” Most nishiki textiles use supplementary wefts (enuki) for the surface of the designs.

Functioning as a stole (ōhi), it would have been draped over the left forearm of a Buddhist priest. It is usually worn together and matches the fabric design of a much larger rectangular robe (kesa). The small, dark blue brocaded squares in the four corners of this ōhi symbolize the Guardians of the Four Directions (shitennō) in Buddhist cosmology.