Collection record · Dress & textiles
Jacket with Octopus
The collection record classifies this work as textile. It is dated c. 1800–1868. Recorded culture or place: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868).
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Jacket with Octopus
- Date
- c. 1800–1868
- Culture / origin
- Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Materials and technique
- Silk crepe (chirimen)
- Dimensions
- neck edge to hem: 79.1 cm (31 1/8 in.); Across shoulders: 128.6 cm (50 5/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 2020.66
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
With its many long arms, the octopus lends itself to a tantalizing design, with the front of this garment displaying tentacles and the back revealing the face. An octopus motif sometimes appears on costumes for the role of the Catfish Priest, a sidekick of the main villain in the Kabuki play Shibaraku (Stop a Moment!). It is also seen in genre painting during the 1600s as a logo on the uniforms of transportation staff, perhaps indicating just how much they can carry. This jacket may have recycled the idea as a fashion statement.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · L. E. Holden Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
Open the complete museum record View the open-access policyTHE VISITOR BOOK
What caught your eye?
Opening the visitor book…
