The Imperial Ho-o Legend — Japanese Silk Lumbar Pillow, Gold Phoenix Butterfly Kiku Obi

A scroll of celestial narrative. Woven in silk. Unrepeatable.

The Imperial Ho-o Legend is a Japanese silk lumbar pillow handcrafted by Renaras from an authentic vintage Fukuro Obi, woven in the Nishijin tradition of Kyoto. Against a radiant gold silk ground, the Ho-o (鳳凰) — the Japanese phoenix, harbinger of peace and harmonious rule — soars across a composition of exceptional narrative complexity: accompanied by Cho (蝶), butterflies symbolising transformation and the joy of transient beauty, and Kiku (菊) chrysanthemums representing imperial longevity, all structured in elegant horizontal bands of rust-red, deep purple, and matcha green. The format echoes the Emakimono (絵巻物) picture scroll tradition — the great horizontal narrative art form of the Heian and Kamakura periods, in which time, story, and beauty unfold together across a continuous silk surface.

No other piece in the Renaras collection carries this density of motif and meaning within a single weave. The precision of the metallic detailing, the transitions between coloured bands, and the sustained complexity of the Nishijin Jacquard across the full 50 × 30 cm surface represent a technical achievement that required months of a master weaver's undivided attention. It is, in the most literal sense, irreplaceable.

At home on a jewel-toned velvet sofa, a carved wooden daybed, or against the warm neutrals of a Japandi interior that welcomes one deliberate moment of opulence. A collector's piece. A conversation of its own.

The legend, woven once. Now here.

→ Explore the full collection of Japanese silk lumbar pillows