Bridal Sleeping Cover (Yogi) The countryside of western Japan is the birthplace of a great many tsutsugaki wedding textiles. A young farm woman and her family would spin the cotton and weave the cloth for special textiles that would become an important part of her wedding trousseau. After artisans in the local dye shop drew auspicious tsutusgaki motifs on the fabric and dyed it indigo blue, the colorful material was sewed into furoshiki (wrapping cloths), utan (chest covers), and futonji (bed covers) by the bride-to-be, her mother and sisters, and other female relatives. One item in the trousseau of special interest was an unusual coverlet called yogi, literally "night wear," made in the shape of an extra-large kimono (an additional panel of cloth in the back widens it considerably). Yogi first began to be used in the Edo period (1603-1868). Because of its shape, it fits tightly around the shoulders and neck, providing excellent protection against the winter cold. Detail: Bridal Sleeping Cover (Yogi) A.1995.93.0494 Bridal Sleeping Cover (Yogi) Probably Kyushu Island, Western Japan Cotton, plain weave, tsutsugaki rice-paste resist, painted pigments, and dip-dyed in indigo 19th century 64 1/2 x 56" (64 x 142 cm)