Noh costume (nuihaku) with floral motifs

Nuihaku robes combine embroidered designs and applied gold or silver leaf and are used as costumes in the Japanese musical drama called Noh. Usually worn by male actors playing female roles, they serve as inner garments beneath an outer robe called a karaori. This example features a ground of gold leaf applied to the silk surface to form a geometric pattern, on top of which are embroidered clusters of floral motifs in green, white, orange, purple, and blue silk threads. Since these types of robes are often worn turned down at the waist and then covered with a sash, the designer of this robe left this area free of designs, in a style known as koshi-ake, which literally means “blank waist.”