, in
English often shortened to bunka, is a form of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese
embroidery
Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
originating in the early 19th century
that became more widespread around the turn of the 20th century,
before then being introduced to the US after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Bunka artists use a specialized embroidery needle and
rayon
Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...
threads (originally silk)
to create very detailed pictures that some liken to
oil painting
Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
s.
Typical subjects include people, living things (traditionally fish), landscapes
and traditional Japanese scenes.
Bunka is considered a form of
punch needle technique, and the rayon threads used are woven in a chainette format, which, when opened, gives a
boucle texture to the yarn. Unlike other embroidery techniques, however, bunka is worked from the front of the fabric rather than the back.
Unlike some other forms of embroidery, bunka is fragile and is usually presented as artwork rather than as clothing adornment. Bunka has gained in popularity since the advent of numbered kits (similar to
paint-by-number),
which provide a step-by-step guide to producing artwork.
See also
*
Sashiko
References
Embroidery in Japan
Japanese stitching techniques
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