Ruined Palace at Soma Tenugui

Utagawa Kuniyoshi's fantastical visions are brought to life once again on this tenugui. In this chaotic and unsettling depiction of a scene from a fiction work by Santo Kyoden, a giant skeleton crashes into a home, imposing itself onto a sorceress hurriedly reciting incantations to gather allies against this dark force. We think Kuniyoshi and Hieronymus Bosch would have been great buddies. The skeleton is drawn precisely, and this influenced the manga artist Shigeru Mizuki who is well known as an author of "Gegege no Kitaro", a Japanese manga about folk monster.

This painting was inspired from the book "Utou Yasukata Chugiden" by Santo Kyoden who was an Ukiyo-e artist and fiction writer in the Edo period. This scene takes place at the old palace in Soma, Japan. In the original, many skeletons appear and fight, but Kuniyoshi Utagawa drew one giant skeleton instead, and it made the design look powerful.

The vibrant colors and soft texture you can expect from woodblock print translate elegantly over to the soft cotton weave of this multi-use towel.

Perfect for the metalhead or wabori (Japanese tattoo) lover in your life.

A note on the edges

The short ends of tenugui are unfinished. This is intentional. Traditionally, tenugui are left unsewn on the short ends so they dry faster, and stay more hygienic. And historically they would be quickly torn into strips for use as bandages or ties in an emergency.

Because of this, a small amount of fraying on the short ends is normal and expected. It's a traditional feature, not a flaw, and it will stop on its own after the first few washes as the weave settles.

You can also snip or pull off the fraying strings if you prefer.

Features:

• Dimensions: 34"L x 13"W
• Material: 100% cotton
• Made in Kyoto, Japan