Kimono: making kimono

Katsukawa Shunshõ, 'The Cultivation of Silkworms', 1767-1768. Museum no. E.1360-1922. This print by Katsukawa Shunsho depicts a merchant showing fabrics and kimono patterns to two women, one of whom is filling her tobacco pouch while she ponders her choice. The merchant's box to the left bears the logo of the Echigo -ya, the most famous drapery store in Edo.

Kimono are made from single bolts of cloth, about 36cm wide and 11 metres long, which are cut into seven straight pieces. Two panels - each extending up the front, over the shoulder and down the back - create the body, two the sleeves, two more the overlaps, and a narrower panel the neckband.

This simplicity of construction meant that kimono could be sewn in the home. In the Edo period many households, particularly in rural areas, also had their own loom, and a woman's sewing and weaving abilities were considered very important. The creation of sumptuous silk kimono, however, required the skills of specialist artisans, the majority of whom were men. Fashion was big business and supported an extensive network that included spinners, weavers, dyers, embroiderers, specialist thread suppliers, stencil makers and designers. At the heart of the industry were the drapery stores, the most famous of which was the Echigo-ya in Edo founded in 1673 by Mitsui Takatoshi. Merchants such as Mitsui not only sold kimono fabric, but orchestrated the activities of the various specialist workshops involved in the creation of individually commissioned garments.

When choosing a kimono design, customers, and also the makers and sellers of kimono, could turn to pattern books (hinagata-bon) for assistance. These contained illustrations of the back of kimono with accompanying notes on colour and decoration. Books showing kimono being worn were also published, not so much to provide practical help but for the pleasure of thumbing through them, rather like today's fashion magazines.

The western textile technology introduced to Japan in the Meiji period speeded up production and lowered costs. At the turn of the 20th century many drapery stores transformed themselves into modern departments stores. Echigo-ya, for example, became Mitsukoshi, which remains one of Japan's leading retailers. Since the Second World War the wearing of traditional garments has dramatically declined, but today such stores still have kimono departments. Nowadays most production is automated, but some makers continue to utilise traditional skills in the creation of contemporary kimono.

Diagram showing the construction of a kimono from the second half of the 19th century (not to scale).