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- Bodhidharma, the Indian monk who came to China in the sixth century and founded Chan or Zen Buddhism; and the third is said to have belonged to Prince Shotoku (571-622) who is revered as the true founder of Japanese Buddhism.
Another group of early kesa include nine kesa from the inventory of Em�peror Shomu's (701-756) relics, now housed in the Shoso-in (Treasury) of Todai-ji Temple in Nara. Emperor Shomu greatly helped in the promotion of the Buddhist faith and in the establishment of Buddhism as a national reli�gion. Shomu was such a devout Buddhist that in 749 he abdicated and be�came a monk. In another part of the Shoso-in are four other early kesa of very high rank. In the Enryaku-ji near Kyoto is an early kesa said to have belonged to Dengyo-daishi (762-822), founder of the Tendai sect; and in the Toji monas�tery in Kyoto there is also a kesa which Kobo-daishi (774-835), founder of the Shingon sect, supposedly brought back from China.
Period Two of Japan's kesa history includes the Kamakura (1185-1333), Nambokucho (1333-1392) and Muromachi (1392-1573) periods. The Kama�kura period saw the return of political stability and the revitalization of Buddh�ism as a result of new sects being introduced from China. The majority of kesa dating to this period belong to the type known as sogyari. Strips of fabric were used of a material different from the main surface to indicate the division in columns and panels. Most of the surviving kesa of this period are again of Chinese origin but were quite different in structure, design and textile mate�rial and technology when compared to the previous period.
Popular images for kesa patches of this period include images of Buddhist deities and symbols (e.g. swastika, sacred Sanskrit characters, vajra), floral arabesques of peony, lotus or other stylized flowers, plants and animals, dragons and phoenixes (ho-o bird). Sometimes designs were made with gold and silver metal threads or by surihaku (printed or impressed foil) which was a decorative technique popular in Ming China and was made by applying and impressing sheets of gold or silver leaf to cloth. In this period kesa were also made in Japan using Chinese imported fabrics and examples. The fabrics used in the Chinese kesa are technically speaking more sophisticated than the textiles made in Japan at this time.
It is Period Three of Japanese kesa development which is of particular interest to us, as this publication illustrates actual kesa of the period. The time frame for this period includes the Momoyama (1573-1615) and Edo (1615-1868) periods and can be extended through the Meiji period (1868- 1912) into modern times, as the concept of the kesa is still part of Buddhism in today's Japan.
During the Edo period foreigners were expelled and Japanese were no longer permitted to travel abroad. Trade with China continued but was more limited. As a result, the import of Chinese textiles including kesa appears to have greatly declined. The trade restrictions were extremely beneficial for the Japanese textile industry as it was largely freed from Chinese imports and influence, thus allowing it to develop on its own. Although the design of Japanese fabric continued to be inspired by Chinese motifs, traditional de�signs were abandoned. Japanese creativity was given the opportunity to
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