Kesa (Buddhist Monk's Robe)

This kesa—a Buddhist monk's robe—features a rooster perched atop a taiko drum, a 13-string koto, a pear-shaped biwa, a stringed tsutsumi drum, and a flute, as well as two masks. Music and performance play an important role in the lives of Japanese Buddhist monks, whose ritual practice is facilitated by patterns of sound, silence, movement, and stillness. The instruments, masks, and foliate forms that dance across the golden ground of the kesa produce a vivid composition that would be even livelier if the garment were wrapped around the body.