Donsu - Donsu

It is also written as danshi, sendan, or donshi. It is a patterned fabric based on a satin weave, and differs from rinzu in that it is a "pre-dyed" fabric woven using threads that have been dyed before weaving. It is generally made with a five-ply warp weave as the base, and the pattern is most often woven with a five-ply weft weft as the reverse weave. Its distinctive features are its rich luster, and the pattern is woven clearly because it is a different weave from the base, and the pattern is further enhanced by using different colored threads for the warp and weft.

As the name "Danshi" can be found in the first volume of the "Gentensho" Works Division, Donsu was already being woven in the Yuan dynasty of China, and was imported to Japan in the Middle Ages along with satin weaving. Some of these fabrics were later known as "famous cloths" and highly valued. However, a general look at these famous donsu fabrics reveals that they do not necessarily have a satin weave. Examples include the Matsuya Katatuki tea caddy cover, which is said to be the original of "Juko Donsu," "Sasatsuru Donsu," and "Araiso Donsu," and this tendency is particularly strong among famous donsu fabrics of older style. It is likely that the name "donsu" was originally given to patterned fabrics in which the ground and pattern were clearly woven in different weaves and colors.

However, with the rise of satin textiles in the Ming dynasty and later, this type of patterned textile also became common, with satin-based textiles, and it is thought that in Japan, it began to be woven around the Tensho period (1573-1592) by imitating Ming weaving methods. Mainly produced in Nishijin, Kyoto, it was widely used throughout the Edo period for kosode (shoulder sleeves), obi (belts), haori linings, bedding, and kesas (robes), and from the end of the Edo period, it also began to be woven in Kiryu. Donsu reached its heyday in the 1870s and 1880s, but then fell into decline under the pressure of other patterned textiles, and is now only used in very limited situations, such as for mounting materials, tea utensil covers, and fukusa (cloths).

[Ogasawara Sae]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

段子、閃緞、鈍子とも書く。繻子(しゅす)組織を基本とした紋織物で、綸子(りんず)と異なる点は、機織前にあらかじめ染色した糸を用いて織り上げる「先染め」の織物であること。一般には経(たて)の五枚繻子組織を地として、文様はその裏組織である緯(よこ)の五枚繻子で織り出したものがもっとも多い。特色は、光沢に富み、文様が地と異組織であることによって明瞭(めいりょう)に織り出されることにあり、さらに経緯に異色の色糸を用いることによって、文様が明確に表される。

　緞子は『元典章』工部巻の一に「段子」の名が散見されるように、中国元代にはすでに織製されており、日本には繻子織などとともに中世に舶載された。後世それらのうちのあるものは「名物裂(ぎれ)」として伝えられ、珍重されている。しかしこれらの名物緞子類を通観すると、かならずしも繻子組織によっていないものが含まれている。たとえば、「珠光(じゅこう)緞子」の本歌(ほんか)といわれる松屋肩衝(かたつき)茶入の仕覆(しふく)、「笹蔓(ささつる)緞子」「荒磯(あらいそ)緞子」などがそれで、とくに名物緞子のなかでも古様なものほどその傾向が強い。おそらく当初は、地と文様が異組織、異色ではっきりと織り出された紋織物に対して、緞子の名があてられたものと思われる。

　しかし明(みん)代以降の繻子織物の隆盛とともに、この種の紋織物も繻子地を基本としたものが一般的となり、日本においても明代の織法をまねて天正(てんしょう)年間（1573～92）のころに織製され始めたと考えられる。京都西陣(にしじん)を主産地とし、江戸時代を通じて小袖(こそで)、帯、羽織裏、夜具地、袈裟(けさ)地として広く利用され、江戸時代末からは桐生(きりゅう)でも織製されるようになった。明治10年代から20年代には緞子の全盛期を迎えるが、その後は他の紋織物に押されて衰退し、現在では表具地や茶器の仕覆や袱紗(ふくさ)など、ごく限られた場でしか活用されていない。

［小笠原小枝］

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