" The Four Kings Hunting Lions" Nishiki, preserved in the Horyuji Temple, is attributed to the sixth and seventh centuries when the Sui and Tang Dynasty were most prosperous. It is a superb example outstanding in its grand schematic theme among many existing Japanese Nishiki of the Suiko and Tempyo Period. Presumably, it was used for the imperial standard for commanding an army.

This brocade design is historical evidence of the cultural dissemination between the West and the East during ancient times, in which the culture of the Sassanian Dynasty influenced by the Hellenistic culture was brought far to the East, via the "Silk Roa d". For this reason, this brocade pattern is of great significance.

Our institute attempted to transfer the ambitious theme of this ancient brocade to a "warp-brocade" weaving technique, with a fresh composition. It consists of the hunting scenes of the Persian kings on horseback shooting lions, arranged inside roundel s bordered by a series of circular motifs, and against the background, the floral arabesques, still found in the Parthenon in Greece, are arranged at the four corners of each roundel. With this new composition, our institute tried to represent the attract ive features from the design of the original brocade.

Tatsumura Institute Of Textile Art