Antique Japanese Silk Obi Pictorial Garden Pavilion Bridge Genji Wheel 12'L

Antique Japanese Silk Obi — Pictorial Heian Garden Scene with Genji-Guruma Ox-Cart Wheel, Pavilions & Arched Bridge

Japan, Meiji–Taisho period (circa 1900s–1920s), estimated — no source tag for this piece, dated by style
144″L × 13″W (366 × 33 cm); approx. 3 lbs

Rather than a repeating floral or fan motif, this obi is worked as a continuous pictorial garden scene: tiled-roof pavilions, a genji-guruma (ox-cart wheel) at rest among the plantings, and a red arched bridge crossing a stream, set among pine, cherry blossom, and autumn maple. The palette is soft and faded — dusty rose, olive, and warm brown against ivory silk — closer to a painted scroll than a formal brocade repeat.

The genji-guruma, the wheel of an ox-drawn carriage used by Heian-era nobility, is one of the most recognizable emblems of Japanese aristocratic court life in textile design, frequently associated with the Tale of Genji. Paired here with garden pavilions, an arched bridge, and both spring (cherry blossom) and autumn (maple) planting, the composition reads as a continuous narrative garden rather than an isolated motif — a device favored in finer Meiji–Taisho pictorial weaving over simple pattern repeats.

A small woven mark near one pavilion roofline (visible in the detail photos) may be an artist's or workshop signature; I haven't been able to identify or translate it.

Form: Obi panel — continuous pictorial patterning along its visible length
Construction/Decoration: Silk pictorial weave depicting genji-guruma ox-cart wheel, garden pavilions, arched bridge, pine, cherry blossom, and maple in dusty rose, olive, and brown on an ivory ground
Period: Meiji–Taisho, Japan (circa 1900s–1920s)
Dimensions: 144″L × 13″W (366 × 33 cm); approx. 3 lbs
Weight: ~3 lbs
Condition: Expected age-related wear for a vintage silk textile — light soiling, occasional snagged or pulled threads, minor metallic-thread tarnish, and storage fold lines — with no notable tears, holes, or repairs unless otherwise noted. Faint brownish spotting is visible from possible water stains.