Tex, Japan, wovenLength of purple self patterned satin silk with design of flowers and latticeThis Japanese fabric is of a type known as rinzu, a patterned satin similar to damask, that was introduced into Japan from China in the sixteenth century. It was produced in Japan from the early seventeenth century and gradually replaced the stiffer silks used previously. Rinzu was a popular fabric for kimono, the T-shaped garment that, from the early sixteenth century, was the principle garment for both sexes and all classes, and was generally woven, as here, with a key-fret and small flower design known as sayagata. This nineteeth century example was part of a gift of objects given to Queen Victoria by the last-but-one shogun in 1860.