Knitting History

[knitting_needle_ninja]

I'm working on an essay for my History of Art in Japan class, and one of the subjects I'm considering is knitting. Of course, with knitting/crochet having been mostly a european handcraft, I'm having trouble finding resources. I've only been able to find two websites and two books (my library only carries one of which) with any information at all, and we're not supposed to use web sources. Any recomendations?  

[gemini6184]

Honestly you might do better with silk weaving, the making of samurai armor, or some other kind of crafty art. I don't think knitting got to Japan til far later than the rest of the world. sweatdrop  

[knitting_needle_ninja]

I know they've had forms of knitting for thousands of years (not like what we have to day, but they still made fabic in a simmilar way), and they've had true knitting since at least the beginning of the Meji period (1850's or so). China has had forms of crochet longer than any other nation, and I wasn't sure if Japan had something like that too.

Also, we have to be able to make a sample of whatever it is so making armour or weaving are kind of out of the question.  

[Zahra Ovaci]

Anne Modesitt's Confessions of a Knitting Heretic has a little bit of history on unconventional knitting styles, maybe you could use her as a resource? Even if it's only for her bibliography wink  

[Zahra Ovaci]

I know you can't use web resources, but here's some sites that might serve as jumping-off points if you can check their sources:

http://www.knitjapan.co.uk/j_select/pages/japanknitting_pt1.php

Quote:

Before the Europeans

‘Amimono ima mukashi’ (Knitting Today & Past) - Yoshihiro Matushita, 1986, published by Nihon Vogue, provides an introduction to the history of knitting in Japan, largely from the perspective of the development of knitting yarn manufacturers. Most of this article is drawn from this source. Mr Matushita briefly covers some ancient textile relics that he considers to be connected to knitting

(once again, one should bear in mind how little research exists in this area).

Also, be sure that the people you're sourcing mean knitting as we mean knitting, and not as knotting or netting or naalbinding, which came about much earlier.  

[knitting_needle_ninja]

Thanks. I'll see if I can find that book. Sadly, that website was the one good source I managed to find.  

[Lee Kushrenada]

there is a lot of history to knitting, and its really fun... but not much in Japan.
you MIGHT find more about nalbinding in Japan, though I don't really think so.
what you could do is how they spun silk, there's lots of history for that, and its cool stuff. 3nodding