Photos of the cloth bashofu

This page presents photos of cultural aspects of banana-fibre cloth, bashofu, on different islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago in Japan.

These photos are taken by Katrien Hendrickx during the Tanadui festival on Taketomi island in November 2001.

The Tanadui festival has a very long tradition and was designated by the Japanese government as a 'significant intangible folk cultural asset'. The event takes about 10 days, but for the large public, it is centering around a series of performing arts outdoor in dedication to the gods during 2 days. Natives of Taketomi living in other regions of Japan come back to participate in the festival as well. 

Small collection of the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology) in Leiden, kept in a depot outside Leiden, the Netherlands. These kimonos of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan were acquired in July 1966.