Kimono from our Collection

This page contains a database
of kimono held by the V&A.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1860-90 Monochrome figured satin silk, with paste-resist decoration and embroidery in silk and metallic thread Width 125.5 cm x height 160 cm 874-1891

    In 1891 the V&A purchased this kimono from Liberty's, the London shop founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1875. Liberty's specialised in selling goods imported from Asia and played an important part in fostering the late 19th-century craze for all things Japanese. The garment is decorated with a pattern of rippling water, bamboo and birds. Such stylised natural motifs provided a new and important source of inspiration to British designers.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1910-30 Silk crepe, with paste-resist decoration (yuzen) and touches of embroidery in silk thread Width 124 cm x height 160 cm FE.233-1974

    This kimono, which dates from the early 20th century, has long 'swinging sleeves' (furisode), which indicate that it would have been worn by a young, unmarried woman. The designer has composed an entire landscape across the surface of the garment, the image of cranes, rippling water, rocks and cherry blossoms being created with a technique called yuzen. This involves drawing the pattern on the cloth with rice paste extruded through a metal tip attached to a cloth bag. The paste forms a protective coat that prevents the colour penetrating when the dyes are applied. The pastel colours of this design were very popular in the early 20th century.

  • Flight

    Flight Japan 1990 Crepe silk, with stencilled decoration Width 131 cm x height 169 cm FE.10-1995

    The dazzling design of this kimono was created using the stencil-resist dyeing, or katazome, technique. Its creator Matsubara Yoshichi, has developed a very individual method of working in which stencils of the same shape, but of diminishing size, are used in succession. Rice paste is applied through the largest stencil on to the fabric, which is then dipped in the indigo dye bath. The colour does not penetrate the area covered by the paste. The fabric dries, the paste is washed off and the whole process is repeated with the next stencil. Twenty-nine such stencils were used to create this particular, rather electrifying, design.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1820-60 Satin silk (shu), with embroidery in silk and metallic threads Width 126 cm x height 175.5 cm FE.36-1981

    This kimono is an uchikake or outer kimono and would have been worn during the winter months. It is exquisitely embroidered, using a great variety of stitches, with different scenes derived from Japanese art, legends and literature.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1790-1830 Monochrome figured satin silk (rinzu), with tie-dyeing (kanoko shibori) Width 123 cm x height 132 cm FE.32-1982

    The long 'swinging sleeves' (furisode) of this kimono indicate that it would have been worn by a young woman. Red was a popular choice for young women's kimono because the colour symbolised youth and glamour. The dye, known as beni, was produced from safflowers and was very expensive. The whole garment is decorated using a tie-dyeing technique known as shibori, which was also very costly. The woman who wore this kimono must have come from a very wealthy family. The auspicious design of pine, bamboo and plum on the hem and sleeve ends suggests she wore it for a special occasion. The garment has been shortened at the waist, indicating that it was designed, or later adapted, to be an under-kimono.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1890-1920 Ramie woven with selectively pre-dyed yarns (kasuri) Width 120 cm x height 145 cm FE.52-1982

    The cloth for this kimono was made in Niigata, a mountainous area in north-west Japan. In the 19th century, Niigata, or Echigo as it was then known, became famous for its fine quality ramie cloth characteristically patterned with a small hatched design. Although woven in quite a remote rural area, this linen-like fabric was used for kimono worn by wealthy merchants and samurai in large cities such as Edo (present-day Tokyo), Osaka and Kyoto.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1800-50 Monochrome figured silk (rinzu) with tie-dye (shibori) and embroidery Width 137 cm x height 185.5 cm FE.101-1982

    On this kimono, the shibori, or tie-dyeing, technique has been used to create a pattern of paper gift ornaments in the shape of butterflies. This has been combined with a motif of embroidered orange blossoms (tachibana). The red colour of the kimono suggests that the wearer was a young woman, although the short sleeves indicate that she was already married.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1780-1800 Monochrome figured satin silk (rinzu), with embroidery, brushed black ink and stencilling (kata kanoko) Width 130 cm x height 180 cm FE.106-1982

    This kimono has been decorated using ink, embroidery and a stencil-dyeing technique called kata kanoko. Nature provides the main source for the motifs used in Japanese art and bamboo, which features here, is an especially popular subject. Across the shoulders of the kimono are various characters taken from the 'Poems of Congratulation' in the 10th-century Kokinshu anthology. Incorporating the written word into the design of the kimono would have demonstrated the literary discernment of the wearer.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1820-60 Satin silk, embroidered in silk and metallic thread Width 124cm x height 189 cm FE.11-1983

    The long 'swinging sleeves' (furisode) of this kimono indicate that it would have been worn by a young unmarried woman. The family crest, mon, across the shoulders suggest that she was probably a woman of the samurai class, the military aristocracy of Japan in the Edo period (1615-1868). The garment has a large padded hem and was designed as an outer kimono for winter wear. It would have been worn without an obi, the sash that secures the garment, so no part of the beautifully embroidered design would have been obscured. The pattern of floral roundels was a favourite among women of the samurai class.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1780-1830 Crepe silk with paste-resist decoration (chaya-zome), stencilled imitation tie-dye (kata kanoko) and embroidery in silk and metallic threads Width 125 cm x height 141 cm FE.12-1983

    This kimono would have been worn by a woman of the samurai class, the ruling military elite of Japan during the Edo period (1615-1868). The design has has been created using a paste-resist method called chaya-zome, which involves the extensive coverage of the fabric with rice paste, leaving only small areas of design to create the pattern when the cloth is dyed. This highly skilled and expensive technique, which results in an indigo blue design on a white ground, was reserved for the summer kimono of high ranking samurai women. Here the technique has been combined with a stencil-dyeing technique called kata kanoko and embroidery in silk and metallic threads.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1700-50 Monochrome patterned silk (rinzu), stencilled dyed (kata kanoko) and embroidered Width 127 cm x height 162.5 cm FE.13-1983

    The fabric used to make this kimono is of a kind known as rinzu, a monochrome patterned silk the weaving technique for which was introduced to Japan from China in the16th century. Like most rinzu it is woven with a small key-fret and flower pattern known as sayagata. The flower and hexagon pattern was created using stencils and embroidery.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1870-1900 Crepe silk, with embroidery, and free-hand paste-resist (yuzen) and stencilled (kata kanoko) designs Width 128 cm x height 165 cm FE.14-1983

    This kimono has a lavish overall design of auspicious motifs of pine, bamboo, plum, peony, chrysanthemum, crane and tortoise. This type of kimono was often exported to the West in the late 19th century in respose to the craze in Europe and America for all things Japanese.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1890-1930 Indigo-dyed ramie, with white cotton stitching (kogin) Width 100 cm x height 129 cm FE.141-1983

    This kimono was made and worn by a woman living in Tsugaru, a penisula in the very north of Honshû, the main island of Japan. It is woven with fine indigo-dyed ramie. The decorative panel on the upper part has been stitched in white with a diamond pattern, a technique known as kogin. If she was to make a good marriage it was essential that a Tsugaru woman master the skills of kogin, and training began at an early age. By her wedding day the bride was expected to have woven and embroidered a number of fine garments for herself and her future husband. These would be worn on special occasions.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1800-30 Monochrome patterned satin silk, with tie-dyed (kanoko shibori) and embroidered decoration Width 124 cm x height 179 cm FE.28-1984

    The padded hem on this kimono indicates that it is an outer kimono, or uchikake, designed for winter wear. Uchikake were worn without an obi, the sash that secures the garment, so no part of the design would have been obscured. The shibori, or tie-dyeing, technique has been used to create a pattern of paper gift ornaments in the shape of butterflies. This has been combined with embroidered plum blossoms. This auspicious motif was a popular one in winter, for it suggested that the arrival of spring was not too far away.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1868-1912 Silk crepe, with embroidery Width 120 cm x height 160 cm FE.7-1987

    This kimono is embroidered with two shishi, mythical lion-like creatures characterised by their fierce expressions, large eyes and curly mane and tail. They are shown fighting across a bridge over a waterfall surrounded by peonies. The eyes of the shishi are of glass and the embroidery is padded, giving the scene a very three-dimensional quality. The thick, heavy hem of the garment denotes that it is an outer kimono, or uchikake, worn during the winter months. Uchikake are worn without an obi (sash) so the rich design would have been clearly visible.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1820-60 Satin silk (shu), with embroidery in silk and metallic thread Width 126 cm x height 170 cm FE.28-1987

    The combination of delicate embroidery and dark satin fabric gives this kimono a striking, lustrous appearance. The design of paired ducks is a symbol of marital harmony, so this garment may have been part of a wedding trousseau. The kimono was brought back to Britain by John Bonham-Carter, who visited Japan in 1881-2.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1870-80 Crepe silk (chirimen), paste-resist decoration (yuzen) and embroidery Width 129 cm x height 169 cm FE.29-1987

    This elegantly patterned kimono celebrates the beauty of textiles through its decoration, which depicts lengths of fabric hung on an elaborate stand and gently fluttering in the breeze surrounded by clouds, fans and falling cherry blossoms. The design was created using a technique called yuzen. This involves drawing the pattern on the cloth with rice paste extruded through the metal tip of a cloth bag. The paste forms a protective coat that prevents the colour penetrating when the dyes are applied. Here the skills of the dyer have been enhanced by those of the embroider, who has highlighted the stand and the edges of the fabrics in gold and added flowers, blossoms and elaborate ties and tassels in pink, white and green.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1920-40 Monochrome figured satin silk or artificial silk, with printed decoration Width 123 cm x height 142 cm FE.127-1988

    This 20th century kimono would have been worn by a young woman. The design of open fans, flowers and a meandering stream is a traditional one, but the dense, lively pattern and brilliant colours would have made it a very modern garment.

  • Green Waves

    Green Waves Japan 1973 Plain-weave silk, with paste-resist decoration (yuzen) Width 131 cm x height 169 cm FE.420-1992

    Like many of his contemporaries, Moriguchi Kunihiko uses traditional techniques to create striking, modern designs. He learned the skills of yuzen dyeing from his father, Moriguchi Kako, who is also a famous textile artist. In yuzen a cloth tube fitted with a metal tip is used to apply a thin ribbon of rice paste to the outlines of a drawing on the fabric. Dyes of various colours are brushed within the paste boundaries, which prevent bleeding of one colour into another.Moriguchi Kunihiko's designs are inspired by the natural world, but are based on a process of abstraction which involves taking one stylized motif and subjecting it to a series of mathematically determined transformations.

  • Grey of Dawn

    Grey of Dawn Japan 1987 Crepe silk, with paste-resist decoration (yuzen) Width 128 cm x height 167 cm FE.421-1992

    The textile artist Moriguchi Kunihiko employs the traditional resist-dying technique of yuzen to create kimono with elegant, modern designs. An additional technique unique to the Moriguchi, and used to great effect on this kimono, is the sprinkling on of small particles of rice paste prior to and between applications of the background colours. This process, known as makinori, creates a mottled effect.

  • Myriad Green Leaves

    Myriad Green Leaves Japan 1992 Figured silk, with tie-dyeing (shibori) and hand-painted decoration Width 121 cm x height 161 cm FE.422-1992

    The lyrical design of this kimono was created using a complicated and time-consuming process. Various areas of the cloth were protected by being stitched around, gathered up, wrapped in plastic and then tightly bound with thread before each dye was applied. Chinese ink, called sumi, was then used to paint in the flower petals and veins of the brown leaves and to accentuate other parts of the design. Furusawa derives her inspiration from tsujigahana, a Japanese textile form that was highly popular between the 14th and early 17th century.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1910-30 Silk crepe (chirimen) with tie-dyeing (shibori) and embroidery Width 129 cm x height 158 cm FE.17-1994

    The striking pattern of this kimono reveals the dynamism of Japanese textile design in the early 20th century. A traditional motif of pine trees, plum blossoms and clouds has been dramatically enlarged, the bold design reflecting the confident spirit of the period. The pine trees have been executed in a method of tie-dyeing called shibori, while the plum blossoms are lavishly embroidered in orange, yellow and gold. These auspicious motifs and expensive techniques suggest this may have been a garment for a very special occasion, or perhaps that the young woman who wore it was a geisha.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1988 Tsumugi silk woven with selectively pre-dyed yarns Width 138 cm x height 170 cm FE.1-1995

    This kimono, entitled 'Felicitous Ideography', was made by Tokiemon Fuji, who lives and works in Oshima, an island group to the south-west of the main part of Japan. The garment is dyed with dark mud and the iron-rich extract of the sharinbai tree for which traditional silk from the islands is famed. The intensity of the colour and the pattern, of auspicious characters in ancient script, increases down the length of the fabric. The pattern was produced using a unique dyeing and weaving technique pioneered by Fuji in the 1970s. He first weaves groups of threads together and then dyes these preliminary 'blocks' in succesive strips of colour. These are then unravelled and the coloured thread woven into patterns of great intricacy.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1934 Silk crepe with resist-dyeing and embroidery Width 130 cm x height 168 cm FE.138-2002

    This kimono was worn by Sachiko Shimojima on her wedding day on 1st February 1934. The marriage, to Saburo Shimojima, took place at Ninomiya Jinja, a shinto shrine in Odawara. The elegant kimono, with its design of open fans, flowers, leaves and berries, was made to order at the Shirokiya, one of Tokyo's leading department stores.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1920-40 Resist-dyed silk Width 125 cm x height144.5 cm FE.142-2002

    The dynamic kimono designs of the early 20th century are noted for their bright colours and bold designs. The red of this garment is dazzling, while the simple, yet effective, black pattern that dances up the surface creates a highly-charged rhythm.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1910-30 Machine-spun pongee silk woven with stencil-printed warp threads (meisen) Width 122 cm x height 141 cm FE.144-2002

    Many early 20th-century kimono are made from meisen, a fabric woven from silk obtained from defective cocoons. The introduction of mechanised spinning technology meant it was possible to use this lower-quality silk to create a thick, lustrous material that was both long-lasting and relatively inexpensive. Patterned with chemical dyes using an innovative direct-dyeing technique, meisen became the fabric of choice for women's fashionable, casual kimono. In this garment a western and thus quite exotic motif, the tulip, has been rendered with limited but striking colours in a bold arabesque design.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1920-50 Resist-dyed silk Width 124.5 cm x height 148.5 cm FE.145-2002

    The early 20th century saw the introduction of new textile techniques in Japan which speeded up traditional hand-tied resist-dyeing methods. Chemical dyes mixed with rice-paste were applied through stencils to the warp (longitudinal) and/or weft (horizontal) threads prior to weaving. Stencil-printing both warp and weft allowed for the creation of complex images such as the buildings that decorate this kimono. The dense pattern and limited colours create a very modern, almost abstract effect.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1930-39 Gauze weave silk (ro), stencil-printed Width 124.5 cm x height 141 cm FE.146-2002

    The striking pattern on this kimono reflects the synthesis of East and West that characterises much early 20th century Japanese textile design. The powerful, curvilinear energy of the swirling water motif reflects the influence of Art Nouveau. Yet the design has its origins in the Japanese Rimpa style, particularly the work of the 18th-century artist Ogata Korin, which had itself played an important role in the evolution of Art Nouveau in the West. This kimono would have been worn in the summer. The bold visual rhythm of the cooling water motif is balanced by the delicacy of the gauze-weave fabric.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1930-50 Woven silk Width 135 cm x height 135 cm FE.147-2002

    In constrast to women's garments, kimono for men tend to be restrained in both colour and pattern. They can nevertheless be rather elegant, as in this example which is patterned with a subtle diamond motif woven in black silk and metallic threads. It has a matching kimono jacket known as a haori, the dark exterior of which hides a more extravagant lining hand-painted with a landscape scene.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1930-50 Woven silk, lining hand painted Width 151 cm x height 94 cm FE.148-2002

    The dark and restrained patterning of the outside of this kimono jacket, or haori, constrasts with the hand-painted landscape on the lining. The tendency to hide more extravagant designs under a sombre exterior has its historical roots in the sumptuary laws issued at various points during the Edo period (1615-1868) forbidding lower sections of society from wearing particular fabrics and using particular colours and decorative techniques. Those with money and style, however, found ways to circumvent such rules, and a fashion developed for wearing extravagant linings and under-garments. This taste for hidden and intimate beauty continued even when such laws were no longer enforced.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1960-80 Crepe silk, printed Width 130 cm x height 183.5 cm FE.149-2002

    The long swinging sleeves of this kimono indicate that it would have been worn by a young, unmarried woman. The design of blooming flowers and exotic peacock feathers, in shades of pink and purple edged with gold, also denote youth, beauty and glamour. Although western clothes were the norm in post-war Japan, special occasions still provided young women with the opportunity to dress up in the latest kimono fashions.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1980-2000 Silk, woven Width 134.5 cm x height 173 cm FE.153-2002

    The traditional Japanese wedding ceremony takes place in a Shinto shrine. The bride wears a white under-kimono and heavy white outer-kimono known as a shiromuku. Before joining her family and friends for the reception, the bride exchanges the white outer-kimono for an elaborate and brightly-coloured one. This example is decorated with a design of cranes, symbols of longevity, flying over a landscape of gold, blue and green flowers on a bright red ground.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1980-2000 Silk, woven Width 131 cm x height 171.5 cm FE.154-2002

    The traditional Japanese wedding ceremony takes place in a Shinto shrine and is attended by only close family members. The couple are purified, drink sake (rice wine) and the groom reads the words of committment before offerings are made to the gods. The bride wears a white under-kimono and heavy white outer-kimono known as a shiromuku, shiro meaning white and muku meaning pure. This outer-kimono has a design of a large noshi, an auspicious ornament traditionally tied to goodwill gifts, the ribbons of which cascade down the front and back of the garment. The bride's hair is also elaborately styled and she wears a hood called a tsuno kakushi. This is meant to hide her two tsuno, or horns, to symbolize obedience to her husband. After the ceremony the bride exchanges the white outer-kimono for a brightly coloured one and joins her family and friends for the reception. She may also change clothes a further time, today often into western-style wedding or party attire.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1937 Printed wool Width 78 cm x height 72.5 cm FE.2-2005

    In the 1930s kimono for young boys, such as this example, were often patterned with highly graphic propaganda images. Unusually, this kimono commemorates an actual event, the first aeroplane flight from Japan to Europe. The plane, called the 'kamikaze-go' flew from Tokyo to London, landing at Croydon airport on April 9th 1937 making its pilot, Masaaki Iinuma, a hero. The kimono is decorated with images of the plane and, in circles, Mount Fuji, Tower Bridge and the route of the flight, together with the British and French flags. The design also features block letters, in white on grey, which read '1937 Aorenraku 15000'. Aorenraku roughly translates to 'connections across the blue' and 15000 is the distance of the journey in kilometres.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1920-40 Ramie, woven with selectively resist-dyed weft threads (kasuri) Width 122 cm x height 144 cm FE.316-2005

    This is a summer kimono, or katabira, and is woven from ramie, a linen-like fibre well suited to Japan's hot and humid climate. It has been patterned using selectively pre-dyed yarns, a technique known as kasuri.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1850-1900 Crepe silk, painted, dyed and embroidered Width 127 cm x height 157 cm T.389-1910

    The design of this kimono illustrates the close connection between painting and textile arts that exists in Japan. The surface of the garment has acted as a kind of hanging scroll for the creation of a hand-painted and dyed image of cranes among pines and plum blossoms. Touches of embroidery have been used to highlight the crests of the birds and parts of the pine boughs.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1860-80 Polychrome silk crepe (chirimen) Width 134 cm x height 142.5 cm T.65-1915

    The motif of carp and swirling water that decorates this kimono is an auspicious one. It derives from a Chinese legend in which any fish able to leap the waterfall is transformed into a dragon, the story being a metaphor for achievement and advancement in life. The design is executed with long supplementary wefts, a weaving technique that is unusual in kimono fabric. According to the person who gave this kimono to the V&A, it once belonged to the famous kabuki theatre actor Ichikawa Danjuro IX and may have been worn for performance.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1850-80 Polychrome figured silk T.78-1927

    The sleeves on this kimono are very long, indicating that it would have been worn by a young, unmarried woman. It has a large padded hem and was designed as an outer kimono for winter wear. The plum motif is a popular design for such kimono as this tree is the first to blossom in the new year. The delicate design on the outside contrasts with the bold combination of lime green and bright red on the inside. The green silk is woven with a pattern that represents rippling water, the curving shapes echoed in the outline of the fabric on the red crepe which is embroidered in gold with scattered flowers. The theme on the lining, of blossoms falling by a riverside, is also suggestive of the coming pleasures of springtime.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1820-60 Satin silk (shu), with embroidery in silk and metallic thread Width 121 cm x height 164 cm T.79-1927

    The combination of delicate embroidery and dark blue satin fabric give this kimono a striking, lustrous appearance. This kimono has a design of ducks on rippling water among flowers. Paired ducks are a symbol of marital harmony, so this kimono may have been part of a wedding trousseau.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1750-1800 Crepe silk resist-dyed and embroidered Width 121 cm x height 161 cm T.64-1954

    The short sleeves of this kimono indicate that it was probably worn by a married woman. The delicate design of flowers, birds and butterflies at the water's edge was created using a freehand method of drawing in paste on the fabric surface, a resist-dyeing technique known as yuzen. Touches of red, gold and green embroidery provide added contrast against the blue ground.

  • Detail of a Kimono

    Detail of a Kimono Japan 1800-50 Silk crepe (chirimen) with tie-dyeing (shibori), paste-resist dyeing (yuzen) and embroidery Width 124 cm x height 155 cm T.109-1954

    The white spotted parts of the pattern on this striking red kimono were created using a method called shibori. In this technique tiny sections of cloth are bound with thread prior to being dyed. The colour does not penetrate the protected areas. After the dye is dry the binding is carefully removed. Shibori was costly and labour intensive and was usually combined with embroidery as in this kimono. The dense pattern of peonies, chrysanthemums and hollyhocks combined with a key fret pattern is characteristic of kimono worn by women of samurai families. The samurai were the ruling military class of Japan in the Edo period (1615-1868).

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1850-80 Satin silk (shu), with embroidery in silk and metallic threads Width 127 cm x height 142 cm T.72-1957

    This kimono has been embroidered with an extremely potent image of dragons, the most powerful of the mythical beasts, and Mt Fuji, the quintessential symbol of Japan. The striking red silk ground makes the image all the more dramatic.Yet this is an under-kimono (juban), so its design would not have been seen when worn. Instead it served to symbolically wrap the wearer with divine power and protection. The garment has quite long sleeves, usually indicative of female dress, but the dragon is traditionally a very masculine motif, so this under-kimono may have been worn by a man.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1830-80 Monochrome figured silk with silk thread embroidery Width 123 cm x height 169 cm T.269-1960

    This striking kimono has long swinging sleeves, indicating that it would have been worn by a young unmarried woman, while the large padded hem reveals that it was designed as an outer garment for winter wear. The shimmering white ground has been embroidered with chrysanthemums and other flowers and large butterflies, no two of which are the same.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1850-1900 Hemp woven with selectively pre-dyed yarns (kasuri) Width 122.5 cm x height 133.5 cm T.329-1960

    The fabric of this kimono was probably woven in Echigo (present day Niigata), a mountainous area in north-west Japan famous for cloth such as this. The pattern was created with a technique knows as 'kasuri', which involves the binding of certain sections of yarn prior to dyeing. When the skein is dipped in the dye bath the colour does not penetrate the bound areas, creating a yarn that is partly white and partly coloured. A pattern, here of chrysanthemums and hatched lines, then emerges as the cloth is woven. The woman who wore this kimono may have lived in Echigo. However, it is equally likely that she lived in Edo, Kyoto, Osaka or some other city, for kasuri kimono were very fashionable among urban women in the 19th century.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1820-80 Plain weave hemp with paste-resist decoration (yuzen) and tie-dyeing (kanoko shibori) Width 114 cm x height 126 cm T.17-1963

    This is a summer kimono, or katabira, and is made of hemp, a linen-like fibre well suited to Japan's hot and humid climate. The elegant design of flowers and clouds was created using a technique called yuzen. This involves drawing the pattern on the cloth with rice paste extruded through the metal tip of a cloth bag. The paste forms a protective coat that prevents the colour penetrating when the dyes are applied. The butterflies were created using a tie-dyeing technique called shibori.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1850-1900 Silk crepe, resist-dyed with paste-resist dyeing (yuzen), stencilled imitation tie-dyeing (kata kanoko) and embroidery Width 122 cm x height 165 cm T.155-1965

    The motifs on this kimono illustrate the tale of Urashima Taro. Urashima was a fisherman who one day mistakenly caught a tortoise, which he kindly returned to the sea. The following day he saw a beautiful woman clinging to a wreck. The woman was Otomine, one of the princesses in the court of the Dragon King of the Sea. Otomine and Urashima were married and lived for three happy years in the Dragon King's realm until the fisherman began to feel homesick. Otomine begged him not to go and revealed that she was the tortoise he had rescued. Urashima was not dissuaded however, and he left taking a treasure box given by Otomine with the strict instructions that if he wanted to see her again he must not open the box. When he returned home Urashima found all his family had died and even discovered his own grave. Frightened and puzzled he forgot his promise to Otomine and opened the box hoping for an explanation. He discovered that in the three years he had lived with his wife, three hundred years had passed in the real world. He was now a very old man and his spirit left him, leaving him lying dead on his own tomb.

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1800-50 Plain-weave bast fibre (asa), with paste-resist decoration (chaya-zome), stencilled imitation tie-dyeing (kata kanoko) and embroidery in silk and metallic threads Width 122 cm x height 175 cm T.87-1968

    This is a summer kimono, or katabira, the cool linen-like cloth being highly suitable for Japan's humid weather. The iris and bridge motif relates to a famous passage in the 10th century Tales of Ise, one of the most famous works of classical Japanese literature. In the ninth chapter the hero Ariwara no Narihira comes to a place in Mikawa province noted for its eightfold bridge and irises and composes a poem using the syllables of kakitsubata, the Japanese word for iris, as the first syllable of each of the lines. The crests, or mon, across the shoulders are those of the Tokugawa, the military family who ruled Japan in the Edo period (1615-1868).

  • Kimono

    Kimono Japan 1830-80 Crepe silk, with paste-resist decoration (yuzen), areas of scored gold and touches of embroidery in silk thread Width 124 cm x Height 155 cm T.266-1968

    The elegant design of pine trees on this kimono was created using a technique called yuzen. This involves drawing the pattern on the cloth with rice paste extruded through the metal tip of a cloth bag. The paste forms a protective coat that prevents the dye penetrating. The large pattern areas were then completely blocked with paste before the background colour was applied. The cloud areas have been created using gold leaf and tiny parts of the design have been highlighted with touches of embroidery.

  • Ise

    Ise Japan 1988 Plain-weave tsumugi silk Width 138 cm x height 167.5 cm FE.11-1989

    Shimura Fukumi, the designer of this kimono, weaves with tsumugi, a type of silk drawn from wild cocoons or the spoiled leftovers of cultivated silk production. Apart from indigo, which she obtains from a specialist supplier, Shimura makes all her dyes from plants grown in her own garden. This kimono is woven with yarns of indigo blue, yellow derived from eulalia, brown from onion skins and green produced by dyeing with eulalia over indigo. The name of the kimono, 'Ise', is inspired by the 10th century Tales of Ise, one of the most famous works of Japanese literature. In 1990 Shimura was awarded the title of Living National Treasure, Japan's highest accolade for those working in the field of traditional crafts.

  • Jacket; Haori

    Jacket; Haori Japan 1920-30 Figured crepe silk, with printed decoration Width 125 cm x Height 92.5 cm FE.163-1988

    A haori is a jacket that is worn over a kimono. This example dates to the 1920s and demonstrates that, while the shape of such garments remained traditional, their decoration often bore an unmistakable contemorary feel. The art deco style featured here was very popular with young women living in major cities such as Tokyo.

  • Blue Mountains and Green Rivers

    Blue Mountains and Green Rivers Japan 2004 Figured gauze weave silk (monsha) Width 137 cm x height 170 cm FE.144-2006

    Tsuchiya Yoshinori's initial interest in the textile arts was stimulated by his fascination with natural dyes and the fact that amazingly bright, pure colours can be achieved using common plants. His work engages with nature, not only through the use of organic dyes, but through the weaving of precise geometric patterns inspired by the beauty of the landscape. The delicate figured-gauze weave (monsha) fabric of this kimono, which is entitled 'Blue Mountains and Green Rivers', was inspired by the brisk air and clear waters of Mount Qingcheng in Sichuan Province in China.

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