By the mid-20th century, the East African kanga was already part of a vast Indian Ocean network of trade, design, and textile production. While kangas were shaped by Swahili taste and culture, many were produced through collaborations that stretched from East Africa to Japan.

Among the figures involved in this transoceanic textile world was Tanzanian designer K.G. Peera, known as Miwani Mdogo (“Little Spectacles”). His surviving 1960s sketches, featuring hand-drawn motifs, colour notes, and Gujarati-written instructions, offer a fascinating glimpse into how kangas were designed and manufactured during this period.

At the time, Tanzanian traders and merchants would send kanga ideas and specifications to Japanese textile firms such as C. Itoh & Co. Artists in Japan would then translate these ideas into finished designs before returning them to Dar es Salaam for approval.

By this period, Japanese factories had become known for producing high-quality, affordable cotton textiles for East African markets, while traders and designers along the Swahili coast remained central to shaping the colours, motifs, and visual language of the kanga itself.

Together, these sketches tell a story of connection across the Indian Ocean world — linking Swahili, South Asian, and Japanese histories through trade, design, and textile exchange.

Below is a selection of original sketches by Miwani Mdogo, several of which feature handwritten production notes and instructions.

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