Japanese Ceremonial Silk Lumbar Pillow – The Imperial Hōō Legend, Phoenix

Japanese Ceremonial Silk Lumbar Pillow – The Imperial Hōō Legend, Phoenix and Butterfly in Gold and Crimson

Hōō. The phoenix of harmonious rule. The bird that appears only in times of peace, woven here in flight across a radiant gold ground — banded with butterflies and chrysanthemums, the iconography of transformation and longevity.

The silk is radiant gold, woven in the Nishijin Jacquard tradition. The hōō phoenix soars across the field in horizontal bands of rust-red, deep purple and matcha green. Around it, chō butterflies — the symbol of transformation and transient beauty — and kiku chrysanthemums — the imperial flower of longevity — carry the eye through a composition of unusual narrative density. The format echoes the emakimono picture-scroll tradition. The gold gives the composition its weight. The crimson and purple bands give it its rhythm.

A pillow for jewel-toned velvet, carved walnut, the warm neutrals of a room that welcomes one deliberate moment of opulence — quiet beauty for ordinary moments, gathered around a shared table.

The face is the original silk, backed in undyed linen. Envelope pocket closure. No metal touches the visible silk.

Each piece arrives with its own passport from the atelier — a small handmade record of the silk's first life and its transformation, signed and dated in Amsterdam.

Material: Japanese ceremonial silk, Nishijin Jacquard fukuro obi with hōō phoenix, chō butterfly and kiku chrysanthemum
Dimensions: Available in 50 × 31 cm and 36 × 31 cm
Construction: Envelope pocket closure, undyed linen reverse
Care: Dry clean or spot clean.
Origin: Japanese ceremonial silk, designed and finished at the Renaras atelier, Netherlands.

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