Thin lines of stitch-resist outline the curves of the ever-growing drifts of snow that shroud the landscape of Jou/ Empire of Snow. Small stitches of white embroidery overlay many of the shibori fabric puffs and add resonance to the image of falling snow. Almost all trace of color is lost in this design, but in the background of some sections of the meticulously dyed gradations of white and gray a faint palette of mottled golds and blues can also be discerned. Kubota utilized a wide range of complex dyeing techniques in his work, and at times they remain even difficult even for a skilled dyer to decipher.