{"product_id":"red-japanese-umbrella-benigasa","title":"Red Japanese Umbrella 'Benigasa'","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRed parasol with pink peonies and green leaves painted across it in full colour\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eRed, with peonies on the red. This parasol has a canopy in a bright red with peonies in pink and a deeper red and leaves in green crossing the upper half, painted in full colour with shading on every petal, and the lower half left plain red. The red is the traditional colour of a Japanese parasol, and the peonies are what make this one a painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is the boldest parasol in the collection and the one seen first in a photograph, which is what a red parasol is for.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe name, Benigasa, is the red parasol, the classic of the tea garden, and this is one with flowers on it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe frame is wood: a straight shaft, a ring of thin ribs radiating from a red-lacquered cap at the top, and a second ring of stretchers beneath that push the ribs open, with a runner that slides up the shaft and locks. The canopy is a cloth with the look of oiled paper, not paper, which is why it survives a shower, a suitcase and a child, and why the print is even to the edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCarry it closed by the shaft and open it with the runner, which slides up and clicks. It is a parasol first: made for sun and for photographs, over a yukata or a kimono at a festival, a wedding, a garden, and it will shrug off a few drops of rain but not an afternoon of it. Opened and hung from its cap, it is a lamp shade without the lamp.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe leaves are the detail: green on red is a hard pairing and the leaves are drawn dark with pale veins so they hold against the ground, and the peonies are shaded from pink at the edge to deep red at the centre, so they sit in front of the leaves rather than in them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery umbrella in the collection is photographed open, standing on its cap, on the same pale ground at the same scale, so the pages compare: they are the same size and the same frame, and the canopy is the difference.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDry it open if it gets wet, out of the sun, and close it only when the canopy is dry. Store it closed in its sleeve. The ribs are thin, so it is carried, not thrown.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom across a garden it is a red circle. From close the peonies show their shading, the leaves their veins, and the red its evenness. It is the parasol for a white or black kimono and the photograph everybody wants.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YONAKU","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59207985430876,"sku":"14:175#chestnut","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1055\/3386\/6332\/files\/red-japanese-umbrella-benigasa-1.jpg?v=1790585165","url":"https:\/\/yonaku.com\/products\/red-japanese-umbrella-benigasa","provider":"YONAKU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}