This is a charming vintage child's cotton kimono from Japan. It has a kasuri (ikat) design of diamonds, done in variations of brown. The fabric for this kimono may have been made in Oshima--a village in the south of Japan (in Kagoshima Pref.). The distinctive brown kasuri fabric from Oshima Island is highly prized in Japan. The brown dye is obtained from local mud with a high iron oxide content. The cotton for this kimono is handspun. The lining, also made of handspun cotton, was dyed with n ...click for details
This is a rare, early 20th century Japanese man's under-kimono (juban) made of a fine woolen fabric (called 'mosulin" in Japanese).
The motifs on the surface of the body fabric include; 3 singing soldiers; song scripts/music scores; torpedo (Bangalore torpedo -- used for clearing mines and barbed wire); tank; explosion.
This is a rare, early 20th century Japanese man's under-kimono (juban) made of a fine woolen fabric.
The motifs on the surface of this kimono display the latest in modern war technologies: Tank; battleship; bi-lane (flying over mountains of China?); train.
The design reflects Japan's hyper-nationalism of the times, and was worn to show ...click for details
This charming vest is made of three different pieces of cotton--plain indigo-dyed solid blue cotton, an indigo-dyed, white-on-blue kasuri tie-dyed cotton, and an indigo white-and-red on blue kasuri tie-dyed cotton. Pieced together and then quilted (sashiko). It has undyed white cotton ties.
Measurements: 32 in. (81.3 cm) wide(along hem); 30 in. (76.2 cm) long; 17 in. wide (across bust) ...click for details
This antique Japanese paper stencil (Stencil E) has a wonderful design of wild daisies and chevrons. It is made of several layers of laminated handmade Japanese paper (made with "kozo," the inner bark of the mulberry bush) then treated with persimmon paste, and finally smoked to render it waterproof and tough. The intricate design (which is "chu-mon" or medium-size) is cut into the paper by a master cutter-artisan. ...click for details
This is a futon cover (futon-ji) made of hand-spun cotton, with a hand tie-dyed ikat (kasuri) motif of a vase, tray, and blooming plum branch (all done in weft kasuri technique), and large crosses (double warp and weft kasuri). It comes from one of two towns which specialized in this style of kasuri--Kurume or Hirose--both located on the Japan Sea coast.
It was dyed with natural plant indigo, and its deep blue-black col ...click for details
This Japanese kimono haori is made of a brocade-woven design that was done with polychrome lacquered threads (called "rama-ire") and metallic couched gold and silver threads. This style of haori was especially popular in the 1950s-60s; here is an extraordinary example. It has one crest, indicating that it was worn for semi-formal occasions.
This lovely kimono-shaped sleeping comforter (called "yogi" in Japanese) is made of thick hand-spun cotton. It was originally constructed with two layers of fabric, with a thick padding quilted between the two layers.
It has an auspicious motif of a long-tailed turtle and crane ("tsurugame"), symbolizing longevity and fertility. It also has a super-large stylized family crest (variation of bamboo). ...click for details
This is a rare, early 20th century Japanese young boy's kimono made of a fine wool (mosulin). Likely worn by a pre-school age boy (quite small). It has a very exciting and important design, historically speaking.
The motifs on the surface of this kimono include: The 5 interlocking Olympic circles; a Japanese athlete on horseback (Nishi Takeichi); other Olympic athletes -- Shuhei Nishida (pole vault); a reference to ...click for details
This antique Japanese paper stencil (Stencil L) has a wonderful design of roof tile corner stones. It is made of several layers of laminated handmade Japanese paper (made with "kozo," the inner bark of the mulberry bush) then treated with persimmon paste, and finally smoked to render it waterproof and tough. The intricate design (which is "chu-mon" or medium-size) is cut into the paper by a master cutter-artisan. ...click for details
