Held in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the reversion of Okinawa from U.S. to Japanese control, "Bingata: Colors and Shapes of the Ryukyu Dynasty" presents 245 examples of vibrantly colored textiles and stencils produced in the Ryukyu Kingdom, which between the 14th and 19th centuries ruled over the area now known as Okinawa Prefecture. Possibly the most comprehensive public exhibition of bingata (Ryukyuan traditional resist-dyed textiles) to date, the mesh of cultures visible in these objects on display at the Suntory Museum of Art make a strong case for Japan's largely underestimated cultural diversity.
As with the katazome technique used for making mainstream kimono, bingata involves a paste-resist technique that begins with mulberry-paper stencils, themselves beautiful objects. Several of these stencils, which were often sold with the garments, are on display alongside the kimono they were used to decorate.
The exhibition opens with a line-up of national treasures — robes from the second Sho Dynasty (which ruled the Kingdom from 1470). Bingata with a luminous yellow background were reserved for royalty, while the nobility wore robes of white, blue, pink, or red on special occasions. This display is followed by three sections, comprising mostly garments, which will be rotated over the course of the exhibition period.