Woman's Kimono, Japan

Full length: 66.9 inches (170 cm)
Width lying flat with overlap: approx. 16 inches (40.6 cm)
Sleeve length: 22.2 inches (56.5 cm)

The garment has been hemmed up about 2.3 inches (6 cm)

This garment was donated in 2013 by Dennis and Tanya Glass of Naples, Florida. Avid lovers of history and art, the couple are involved in a number of cultural organizations in Naples, FL. Dennis is a United States Air Force veteran and the retired founder of Meridian Printing, a commercial art printing company based in Rhode Island (Denny Glass, The Naples Players). It is a possibility that Dennis purchased the Collection’s kimono during his time in the Air Force. However, the accession paperwork contains no indication as to where the garment was purchased.

The Collection’s kimono features a black silk crepe fabric and a red silk interior lining. The outer fabric is decorated on the bottom half with a painted design that includes a phoenix or long-tailed bird, pine needles, and chrysanthemum with leaves. Two birds face each other across the center front opening. The design is likely painted on using the tegaki-yūzen dye technique, and is visible from the backside of the fabric. There are white specks surrounding the design, likely from the dyeing process. The birds are accented with satin stitched embroidered eyes and feathers. The chrysanthemums are also accented with satin stitching. Additionally, there are small dots of metal surrounding the imagery. Five circular crests, with a design that looks like a modern soccer ball, are placed with one each side just above the chest and three spaced across the back.

The word kimono means “thing to wear”, and while it was first adopted under this name in the middle of the 19th century, kimonos were initially known as kosodes and worn as a universal clothing item beginning in the 16th century, during the Edo period (1603-1868). These garments were initially worn by commoners, or by aristocrat as undergarments. During this time the Tokugawa clan ruled over Japan, creating a period of isolation from the rest of the world. Four social classes existed: samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Although the newly-rich merchant class was at the bottom of the social hierarchy at this time, they transformed the kosode into a fashion-conscious garment. By the late 17th century a streetwear kosode could be embellished with paste-resist painted yūzen designs (Anderson & Monica Bethe, 1993, p.52.53; Hollen & Saddler, 1968, p.268-270; The Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts).

It was not until the Meiji period (1868-1912) that the social classes became more equal and the kosode became reestablished as the kimono. During the Meiji period, Japan's borders reopened, and Western dress began to be adopted and popularized. Everyday wear shifted away from kimono to Westernized dress. In the early 20th century, traditional Japanese dress, such as a kimono, continued to be replaced for everyday wear. Kimonos, especially for the urban population of men, became reserved for formal occasions. For everyday wear, elite Japanese women opted for exclusive and expensive garments from the West over kimonos (Polyzoidou, 2021; Steele, 2004, p.270; The Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts). By the middle of the 20th century, Western dress styles were universally adopted for casual wear, reinforcing the kimono's place as a special garment reserved for milestone life events (Polyzoidou, 2021).

The basic pattern of kimono construction comes from the design of kosode, which can be classified as a short-sleeved kimono. Kimonos are simple straight-seamed garments made from rectangles of fabric. Two lengths of silk create the body of the garment; while the front remains open the back is sewn with a center seam. The sleeves are attached along the outer edge of the body. Any adjustments that need to be made are taken up in the seam allowances to prevent the lengths of silk from being cut. A band sewn along the front edges and around the neck finishes the front opening and creates the collar.

Traditionally, kimono are worn left side over the right side and secured with an obi. This wrap style allows for ease of movement and is well suited for Japan’s climate. An unlined kimono can be worn in the summer and a multi-lined kimono can be worn in the winter (Dalby, 1993, p.5; Kimono · V&A; The Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts). A person can wear multiple layers of the garment as well.

Kimonos are important communicative tools and are indicative of social status and personal identity through color, decoration, and cut. Every kimono and obi ensemble must take into account and communicate life, death, gender, formality and occasion, season, age, and class. Color, placement of pattern, and sleeves distinguish gender, formality, and age (Dalby, 1993, p.4). Men's and women’s kimonos are difficult to differentiate soley by color, but there are key construction differences. Men’s kimono sleeves are short and sewn closed with a squared and sharp edge on the bottom outer corner. Additionally, men’s kimonos are significantly subdued and feature less decoration. The kimonos often utilize charcoal grays, brown-toned blacks, seaweed greens, and wine cyans. On formal kimonos, or haregi, the patterns are often small-scale, repeating, and limited to the mid back, shoulders, and interior lining (Dalby, 1993, p.167-169).

On the other hand, women’s kimonos distinguish the wearer’s marital status and age as well as gender. Japanese women utilize English loanwords to identify this status, misu (miss) is the title for unmarried women, and misesu (missus) is the title for married women (Dalby, 1993, p.194-195). The key similarities between the two kimonos are the sleeve openings, from the underarm to the bottom edge, and the fact that the kimono must be longer than a woman’s height. Interestingly, American women, who are typically taller than Japanese women, wore antique kimonos as lounging robes that reached the ankle.

The distinguishing details can also be found in the sleeves. Married women’s sleeves are square but slightly rounded on the bottom outer corner, and unmarried women’s sleeves are longer with a rounded, bottom outer corner. In addition to communicating gender and marital status, sleeves can also be an indication of formality. Long sleeves represent high formality, while shortened sleeves deformalize a kimono (Dalby, 1993, p.178-179; Lisina, 2020).

A misu (unmarried) could be expected to remain modest and innocent, therefore the collar is worn close to the nape of the neck and the V-shape formed by the the overlap of the kimono is relatively wide and high towards the throat. A misesu can overlap her kimono in a statement of age and sophistication by creating a deeper and lower V-shape.

A misu wears a brighter-colored kimono, while a misesu wears more subdued colors. The younger the wearer, the brighter the color, and the higher the hem decoration reaches the waist (Dalby, 1993, p.167-169, p. 198-199). Although color does not hold as much weight as it did in ancient days, color, specifically black, signifies formality (Dalby, 1993, p.178-179).

Decorative motifs communicate the virtues of the wearer or relate the garment to a season or occasion (Kimono, V&A). Among crested ceremonial kimonos, the difference between semi-formal dress and the highest level of formality relies on the kimono’s ground color. Black, traditionally a masculine color used by the samurai class, is the most formal color. The most formal woman’s kimono is also black, patterned only at the hem, and features five family crests. This kind of kimono, for example, would be worn at weddings by the relatives of the bride. (Dalby, 1993, p.178-179; Lisina, 2020).

Traditional clothing, called haregi, became relegated to formal occasions as everyday wear became more Westernized. For example, a black tomesode bearing five family crests with an elegantly and auspiciously decorated hem is one of the most formal kimonos a married woman can wear. It is considered seisō, or full-dress, ceremonial haregi. (Dalby, 1993, p.176-177).

The Japanese crest, or mon, is a stylized motif within a rondel that communicates lineage, status, and even occupation. During the Edo period (1603-1868), crests were used by regional lords and samurai as a family insignia. At the same time, common townspeople developed their own crests to fashion clothing. Every family is entitled to a mon, but it does not necessarily indicate rank. There were initially 400 official family crests, however many were morphed together through the joining of families and the creation of occupational crests.

Beginning around the 18th century, family crest directories were published annually as an indicator of who’s who in society. Women typically wore their maiden crest on their kimonos as a reminder of her family to her husband’s family (Dalby, 1993, p. 182-183).

A montsuki kimono is a kimono typically worn by men that bears family crests. Popular during the Edo period, this style of formal kimono became established as the most formal of attire during the Meiji period. The itsutsumon is a kind of montuski kimono that features five crests modeled after the daimon, a formal crested robe from the Edo period. Summer wear montsuki kimonos are traditionally woven with ro or sha (silk gauzes) or chirimeri (silk crepe). This base fabric is dyed except for the circular element of the crest, known as the ishimochi. One would have to buy cloth that contains the ishimochi, and pay extra to have their crest dyed onto it; this is known as some-mon or dyed crest. The less expensive alternative to this step would be having the crest woven onto the cloth; this is known as nui-mon or woven crest. Some-mon is more expensive and therefore considered more formal (Montsuki).

The Collection’s garment appears to feature this technique. The crests featured on the Collection’s kimono are a variation of Mitsuwari Kikyou, or the three split bellflower crest. It is a family crest derived from the bellflower, a perennial plant belonging to the Campanulacae family. It is considered one of the ‘seven herbs of autumn’ and is famous as the family crest of the Toki clan of Mino and Mitsuhide Akechi. The Toki clan was a samurai family from Kamakura that flourished during the Edo period. However, it is a popular motif even outside of the Toki family and there are 120 different variations of this motif. The crest is used by many families, including; Wakisaka, Umura, Ota, Fujimoto, Koshiba, Hanai, Takada, Hirose, Toyama, and Tsuchida. It is associated with the surnames Matsuyama, Hayakawa, Machina, and Ono (Thee-Split Bellflower).

As discussed above, satin stitch embroidery and yūzen dye techniques are used to achieve the design of this kimono. Yūzen fabric dyeing is commonly used in Japan for kimonos and obi sashes. There are two yūzen dyeing styles; Tegaki-yūzen, which is a hand painting technique developed in the middle of the 17th century, and Kata-yūzen which was developed in the 19th century and utilizes stencils (The Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts). The Collection’s garment features delicate shading and ombre effects, therefore it is likely the tegaki-yūzen was utilized. The process of decorating a kimono using the tegaki-yūzen is time-consuming, intricate, and expensive. The outline of the design is drawn onto the kimono fabric and the design outlined with a resist paste (typically a glutinous rice paste). The resist paste separates the colors when the silk fabric is painted and ensures the signature white outline on the design, which is present in the Collection’s garment. The areas drawn with the resist paste will not be dyed in the painting process (“Why Chiso Kimonos Are so Expensive,” 2022).

During the early 20th century, interest grew in objective and realistic naturalism in kimono patterns, which is achieved through yūzen dyeing (Kimono With Cockscomb Flowers). The base of the kimono fabric is typically dyed with a brush, using quick speed and even pressure to ensure the color is uniform (“Why Chiso Kimonos Are so Expensive,” 2022; The Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts). In the Collection’s garment, there are discrepancies in the vividness of the black base fabric, which likely occurred during the dyeing process. Black dyeing in Japan was predominantly established early in the 17th century. During the Edo period vegetable dyes, such as binrouji zome, were used to pre-dye cloth for the samurai social class. This process grew in popularity in the Meiji period, when short black kimonos that feature family crests were popularly worn on formal occasions. The family crest was either painted or stenciled onto the garment. However, the binrouji zome technique fell out of fashion with the incorporation of Western dying techniques (Kyo Kimono-Dyeing; The Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts).

In the discussion of black kimonos, it is important to mention mourning kimonos. Marked mourning kimonos express the degree of kinship to the deceased or their proximity to the time of death. Like Victorian mourning rituals, Buddhist funerary ceremonies occur in stages. These stages are expressed by color. For instance, a widow wears solid black at her husband's funeral, but by the 49th day, she may wear a mauve kimono. Therefore, blackness is most intense for members of the family at the time of the funeral. Black in this context represents nearness to death (Dalby, 1993, p.180-181). Although black is often associated with funerary practices in Western societies, and even in Japan, the Collection’s kimono is likely not a mourning kimono due to its auspicious design elements.

The auspicious design on the bottom half of the Collection’s garment features numerous symbolic decorations. The myth of the phoenix, known as ho-o, came from China likely around the mid-sixth century to the mid-seventh century. In the Nara period (710-794), it became a popular and auspicious design motif identified with the Imperial household. The symbol is often associated with immortality and associated with religious motifs used to inspire prayer and religious reflection (Birmingham; Tabata, 2011). By examining the symbolism of pine trees, it can be assumed pine needles have a similar metaphorical meaning. Pine trees are associated with longevity, good fortune, steadfastness, virtue, and immortality. Therefore, it is linked to the Japanese New Year as a symbol of rebirth, renewal, and a hopeful future (Krusinski). Although introduced from China in the fifth century, the chrysanthemum is recognized as the national flower of Japan and is the Imperial Emblem. The flower represents longevity, rejuvenation, and nobility and is a symbol of autumn, representing harvest and goodwill (National Flower of Japan; The Chrysanthemum Culture in Japan, 2019). Colors are also symbolically significant and carry cultural meaning. Dyes are viewed as embodiments of the spirit of the plants from which they are extracted. For instance, black corresponds with water, the north, winter, and wisdom (Kimono, V&A).

Given the information presented above, the history of the Collection’s kimono can be hypothesized. From the Meiji period onward, Kimonos were almost exclusively worn formally, suggesting that the Collection’s garment was for formal wear. The Collection’s garment is unlined and comprised of silk crepe fabric, which indicates a warmer weather kimono. However, the symbolic significance of the design and color indicates references to autumn and winter. This likely indicates that this kimono would have been worn as a transition piece in the autumn when the weather is still relatively warm. Although black can be considered a masculine color, the collection’s kimono was likely worn by a woman. The cut of the sleeves indicates this, as the Collection’s kimono has rounded sleeves and open arm vents. The length of the sleeves indicates that it was likey worn by a misesu. The collar appears to reach closely to the nape of the neck and appears to have a modest V-opening at the front. The Collection’s kimono is black, which also likely signifies formality rather than age. The symbolism of phoenixes, pine needles, and chrysanthemums indicates this kimono is communicating longevity, rejuvenation, immortality, and a bountiful harvest. Five-crested, black kimonos, known as tomesodes, are the most formal of haregi. Tomesode is considered seiso, or full ceremonial dress. Given that many families utilize the Three Split Bellflower crest, it is difficult to identify the specific family this kimono was made for. It is known, however, that they opted for the more expensive some-mon technique of crest application. Additionally, the yūzen dye technique and embroidery also indicate that this kimono can be considered relatively expensive. Through analysis of the family crest and donor information, it is likely that this kimono was not made specifically for the Glass couple. It is likely that this kimono was purchased second-hand during the middle of the 20th century. The hemming indicates, that perhaps it was altered to Tanya Glass’ liking.

By comparing the Collection’s kimono to similar garments from the late Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho period (1912-1926), it is likely this kimono originates from a transitionary period between the two. This kimono probably was initially worn sometime between 1900-1920, reflecting the interest in yūzen dyeing at the beginning of the 20th century. Overall, the Collection’s kimono is a ceremonial five-crested black tomesode, likely worn by a young married woman for an autumn or summer festival.

References

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Birmingham, L. Symbols of Immortality: The Phoenix and the Lion. Artscape Japan. Retrieved November 1, 2023, from https://artscape.jp/artscape/eng/focus/1107_01.html.

The chrysanthemum culture in Japan: beautiful, auspicious and royal. (2019, September 10). CGTN. Retrieved November 1, 2023, from https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-09-10/The-chrysanthemum-culture-in-Japan-beautiful-auspicious-and-royal-JSbIPUG5Ve/index.html.

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Women's Formal Kimono - Birds Lofting into Fir Trees - Antique Taisho Era - Black Silk Chirimen - Rare Gauze Lining. Etsy.com. https://www.etsy.com/listing/493567997/womens-formal-kimono-birds-lofting-into?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details.