Abstract
The Art Research Center (ARC), Ritsumeikan University, has been conducting a digital archiving project of katagami, i.e., stencils for dyeing textiles, of several domestic and foreign institutions. Katagami stencils reflect the changes of design trends from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. However, they are difficult to organize in a database because of the large number and the insufficient documentation.
This essay first elucidates how the ARC has digital-archived katagami. Then, it reports on the sizable collection of Kyotech Co., Ltd. in Kyoto, its overview and characteristics, as a representative case of the project.
