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Andrews Judd ARTH 110 Peters Assignment #4 11/30/07 Body Modification Treasure Hunt Japan, Edo period, late 18th century Furisode (long sleeve robe) Damask silk, silk and metallic threads Minneapolis Institute of Art About 70" long and 40" sleeve-to-sleeve A basic long-sleeved kimono is worn in Japan by single women on fairly formal events. Originally they were black but have developed into bright pastel-colored designs. The furisode is the most formal style of kimono, worn by upper-class unmarried women. The long sleeves, averaging between 39 and 42 inches in length, along with the fabrics used and the intricacy of design distinguish the furisode. The furisodes displayed in the museum are sewn with decorative gold stitching and shows cherry blossoms. The furisode is a vital element of the Japanese culture. When a young Japanese woman celebrates her Coming of Age Day to celebrate the year she turns 20, her parents will usually dress her in a furisode. Wearing a furisode signifies for the young woman that she is both single and a legal adult, satisfying the two requirements to be available for marriage. In this sense, a furisode's social usage related to the formal gowns worn by debutantes in the West. Men also would wear kimonos, although they vary slightly from the women's. The men's variation is a bit simpler, and not so extensive and intricate in neither its design nor its importance. The significance of the kimono comes into the world of tattoo and body modification due to its role in covering the elaborate body-covering designs while they are not being displayed. This body-suit tattoo is called an irezumi. The irezumi would span across the entire area of the body that is covered by the Kimono. This way, the irezumi could be concealed completely until its subject desired to unveil it. The Japanese placed great value on the art of tattoo. Men would commonly tattoo a large animal on them to symbolize their animal spirit. Until these men were prepared to show the tattoo, a kimono was used to keep the tattoo a secret until the right moment arose in which to display their tattoo. The tattoos on these men often included cherry blossoms, dragons, tigers, koi, or carp. Interesting is the contrast in the greater detail of the tattoo over the kimono, where in the women's kimono there is significant and impressive detail. However, although less elaborate than the women's kimono, the men's counterpart is crucial in distinguishing a man socially as elite, boasting his luxurious kimono and assumed elaborate tattooed design underneath. The kimono's use remains currently for young women's Coming of Age celebrations, men's tattoo covers, and even everyday wear for the high class Japanese people. Of many variations, they share in common their beautiful designs and predominant use for important formal occasions of its time. Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa region, 19 th Century Power Figure Wood, horn, brass tacks, metalwork, glass beads, fiber Minneapolis Institute of Art 3 feet tall This human-like sculpture is very bold in its presence. Its materials and manner of its design create a rough look overall. The face is dense with a design of brass tacks and beads that extend down throughout the body. This Power Figure is used for ceremonial purposes and has religious and security powers. These powers were so much that the only time it was permissible to touch the figure was in its creation. There are masks that have a similar appearance to this face but they serve an entirely different purpose. These objects are both honored and alarming. The power figure's purpose of protection and guarding draws a parallel to the Maori figure in that it is used to protect and guard. The figure has a decorative design on the body and all extra adornments are believed by this culture to all have magical qualities giving figure the additional power. The carving brings a necessary fulfillment of the community's needs. They use these power figures in their worship of higher beings as a physical presence to ask for what is wanted of them. Some people have their own personal power figures while some use the community power figures during a ceremony. These objects of the Songye could be commissioned for various purposes in the community's spiritual needs. These purposes might range from a woman seeking protection during pregnancy to looking over someone who was ill. Also, they were sometimes used in the community for rain, crop growth, or luck in hunting. The objects are similar to the painting of lines on a man's or woman's face. Although a person does not necessarily gain power when painted or tattooed, the importance that is placed on and portrayed by tattoos is similar to the lines on the power figure. The figure differs from a traditional tattooed human in the extremity of the modifications in its face. If this design were on a human, that person would have an extremely striking and alarming appearance. Similarly, common designs of tattoo and other body modification achieve this same effect. This large size of this particular power figure of the Songye makes it one of common communal use for people to ask for something from a higher power. This power figure is worshiped by many and each element of the figure has importance and significance for different functions of power and desire of certain necessities for its community. Maori, Polynesian region, 19th century Tekoteko Minneapolis Institute of Art Wood, shell 3 feet tall The Tekoteko from the Maori was an object that displayed the tattooed faces of their people. The tekoteko is a free-standing, carved object of wood. It is a full-figured carving constructed from out of a large piece of wood. The carving around the face and the body is similar in meaning to tattoos of the men. The head is disproportionally long and wide in relation to the body. This tekoteko doesn't attempt to portray the human body as the poutokomanawa figures made by the Maori did. These carvings are relatively more realistic and humanlike, paying closer attention to the proportion and movement of the body. The tekoteko's culturally distinctive tattoo is the moko: a facial tattoo with eight parts signifying a person's life story and accomplishments, covering the entire face. This practice of tattooing uses a different method than the typical puncturing of the skin to inject the dye; moko tattoos leave the skin with a raised surface with a grooved texture similar to the grooves on the tekoteko carving. The moko portrays much importance to the status and age. Getting a tattoo marks a transition from childhood to adulthood. Each one has a significant meaning and no two tattoos are the same. Although it is not solely their faces that are tattooed, the face has more guidelines to the meaning of each line tattooed on. The tekoteko differ from the mokos in that it doesn't depict a single specific person. Unlike sculptures of some other cultures that will be made to duplicate a single person, the Maori have just made general human forms in their creation. Coincidentally, the tattoos are not specific in their meaning and importance specifically within the men of the culture. The Maori use carving, rather than color, to convey the message of tattooing and body modification on the sculptures. These tekoteko figures are significant in the representation of their beliefs. These posts, as well as all other artistically sculpted large carvings in this culture, are instrumental in their belief to deter evil and harmful intruders. The carvings can be found either stationary, possibly fixed onto a wall at the entrance of a house or a building, or could be more freestanding, perhaps placed next to the door.

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