Japan's mended and patched textiles are referred to as Boro, or ragged, both in Japan and abroad.

Boro textiles are usually sewn from nineteenth century rags and patches of indigo dyed cotton.

The diversity of patches is a veritable encyclopedia of hand loomed cotton indigo from old Japan.

In most cases, the beautiful arrangement of patches and mending stitches is borne of necessity and happenstance, and was not planned by the maker.