That uzumaki tomoe (swirling magatama) hanhaba obi stopped me dead in my tracks! I mean just look at my beloved magatama obi I showcased a while ago:
I first thought those two obi were perfect twins ^^ But at closer look, they are more close brothers than twins:
OP obi is ro (summer weave, those horizontal rows leaving discreet gaps in fabric) while mine is solid weave with genjikomon jimon/rinzu (raised pattern ground).
OP obi was probably resewn as an hanhaba obi at some point in its life, mine was resewn as nagoya obi from its maru obi original shape.
Pattern is nearly identitcal, the biggest difference being OP has bright orange streaks, something missing on my obi (but maybe the brown streaks where at one point brighter???).
But beside that, damned! Sister/brother items are always so moving when you find them in kimono fashion, especially when they concern rare pieces. I would love to be able to track the craftsmen who worked on those obi. But without maker’s mark (shoushi, stamped/woven at the edge of tanmono/fabric roll, nowadays often labels, see below), it’s a nearly impossible wish...
