Noh Costume (Choken) with Water Plants and Mulberry Leaves. Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Overall: 47 1/8 x 80 1/4 in. (119.7 x 203.8 cm). Date: 18th century.An outer robe worn primarily for dances by Noh actors in female roles, the choken is often made of silk gauze delicately patterned in metallic thread. Here, as in many choken, there are two different patterns. Scattered mulberry leaves decorate the bottom of the robe while at the top are larger designs of water plants: omodaka, with its arrowhead-shaped leaves, and suisen, a type of narcissus. The conventionalized flowing water beneath the plants is sometimes called kanze mizu (literally, "Kanze water"), a pattern associated with the Kanze troupe of Noh actors. Kanze mizu later became the symbol for a particular Kabuki actor, Sawamura Sojuro III, who appears wearing clothing patterned with the motif in a woodblock print (JP2720) by Utagawa Toyokuni. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.