The Colors of India: Printed Textiles and Global Stories on Display in Tokyo

The Tokyo Station Gallery presents a major exhibition dedicated to the tradition of sarasa, the printed Indian textiles that, for centuries, travelled across trade routes and cultural boundaries, transforming along the way. The exhibition brings together over 130 works, including fabrics, garments, everyday objects, and paintings from Japanese and international collections. The term sarasa broadly refers to printed textiles produced in India, distinguished by floral or geometric motifs, vibrant colors, and remarkable durability over time. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, these fabrics conquered the markets of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Japan, becoming not only valuable commodities but also vehicles of taste, artistic inspiration, and technical innovation. The exhibition traces this cultural journey, showing how sarasa - also known outside India as chintz - were adapted to local aesthetic preferences in Persia, Indonesia, France, the Netherlands, and Edo-Period Japan. Organized into four thematic sections, the show begins with the origins in Gujarat and Coromandel, follows their spread across Southeast Asia, moves into Europe, and culminates in Japan. Visitors will encounter extraordinary examples of these adaptations, such as Japanese kawari sarasa and 19th-century European reinterpretations, along with clothing, interior furnishings, and paintings that reveal the visual and symbolic impact of sarasa in different contexts. A special focus is dedicated to dyeing and printing techniques, including block printing, wax-resist (batik), and the use of mordants to fix natural pigments. The carefully curated selection of works reveals not only the evolution of patterns and materials, but also the complex web of relationships between craft, trade, and visual culture. Historically rigorous and aesthetically refined, the exhibition offers a chance to reflect on the role of decorative arts in shaping a shared history, where textiles become documents, symbols, and bridges between distant worlds.