Mist

霞 kasumi

Bands of spring mist frame and separate scenes, suggesting distance and the beauty of empty space; a spring motif.

Heian yamato-e painting

Mist bands began as soft blue washes in Heian yamato-e. From the 13th century painters drew them with neat rounded ends (suyari-gasumi), used in landscapes to separate distances and in narrative handscrolls to mark changes of scene and time. In the Edo period they became lavish gold bands, and this stylised form passed into kimono design as a way to frame and divide other motifs.

Used on spring kimono and as a framing device in formal designs.