The Mokkō no Mai — Renaras Lumbar Pillow

Mokkō no mai. The dance of the mokkō crest. One of the ten great kamon of Japanese heraldry, carried here at ceremonial scale across an emerald ground.

The silk is deep emerald, woven in a fine diamond-lattice rinzu that shifts in the light from matte to luminous. Diagonal bands of gold and saffron-orange cut across the field, holding three large mokkō flowers — the stylised quince-blossom crest used for centuries by Japanese aristocratic and samurai houses, including the Oda lineage. Each blossom is built in real kinran: gold foil wound over silk core, finished with cream and pearlised silver herringbone fill. The orange edge bands give the composition its confidence. The green gives it its ground.

This is a ceremonial register — the palette and weight of silk made for occasions of the highest order. Showa period, the era when emerald and gold reached their fullest expression in Japanese textile design.

A piece for rooms that hold presence. For sofas in deep walnut, ivory, oxblood. For interiors that can sustain a single decisive gesture without crowding.

The face is the original silk, unaltered. The reverse is the silver silk from the back of the same cloth — the pillow can be turned. Envelope pocket closure. No zip. No metal touching the silk.

Material: Ceremonial silk, kinran brocade with mokkō kamon — Showa period
Dimensions: Available in 31 × 50 cm and 31 × 36 cm
Closure: Envelope pocket, silver silk reverse
Care: Spot clean only. Avoid prolonged direct sunlight.
Origin: Designed and finished at the Renaras atelier, Amsterdam.

One silk. One story. One piece. Never repeated.