Hanten, called "suzukake" worn by a Shugen-sha or Yamabushi who practiced Shugendo. Shugendo is the Japanese unique religion combining Buddhism, Shintoism, and worship of nature (mountains). A practitioner (shugen-sha) trained himself in the holy mountains that is ascetic and very painstaking. It is made of hemp and weft of is hand-plied but warp is machine-spun...

Beautiful silk obi that has been cut and backed to create eight place mats. They are an ivory color with flowers and twisting stems in dusty purple, muted pink, deep red, gold, and brown. Showa period (1925-1989) Size: 18" length, 12" width

Baby's kimono made of soft cotton with shibori pattern and dyed with akane (madder). It has interesting shirring in both wrists. In excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century. 70cm x 60.5cm

WEARABLE ART: This skirt is made out of an old Japanese man's obi belt, chrimen crepe silk with hand tie-dye "shibori". Freshly made out an obi from early 1900 to 1940. Medium size with elastic waist.

Cotton kimono with katazome (stencil-resist-dye) pattern butterfly crest and dancer. It is made from cloth for tenugui (towel). It has rather thick texture and in good condition except for some dirty line in the neck. The first half of the 20th century. 118cm x 131cm

Japanese silk wedding gown with beautiful embroideries of flowers, cranes and the imperial gosho-carts. This is an older and top quality gown that is probably dated early to mid Showa period, 1930-1950; it belongs somewhere between antique gowns and newer gowns. The quality is different from later Showa period when most of the gowns were made for rental...

A pair of boro tabi (socks) made of cotton and indigo dyed. Both soles are lost. The first half of the 20th century. Sashiko is hand-sewn but the light blue reinforcement cloth is machine sewn. L:24cm, H:12cm

Sakiori obi for an everyday kimono. It is handwoven of cotton and silk strips of old kimono and cotton yarn for warps. Some wefts are from kimono with kasuri. In excellent condition. 20th century. W:16.5cm, L:2m92cm

Hanten work wear (noragi( made of hemp, both warps and wefts are hand-plied. Sleeves are tsutsusode (tubular shape). In excellent condition except for a mending (5mm) The first half of the 20th century. 120cm x 61cm

This gown has an exceptionally beautiful red. It is satin but feels almost like velvet. The condition is new, probably never been used. The bottom padding was still covered with a white cloth when this Uchikake was purchased (Enlargement 5). The measurements are 53" wide and 73" long.

Orange Fukusa, Japanese gift cover from mid Showa, 1930 to 1960. Some color loss but in excellent condition otherwise, no damage, stains or tear. The photos shows it little newer than actual. 19 1/8" W x 20 3/4" L

Japanese Silk Temple Cloth, uchishiki, Phoenix Ho-o bird
Measurements:
Silk, woven, cotton liner
Condition: Never been used

These kasuri kimono are very durable, and made to be worn as casual work clothes. I hope you can see the tiny round patches used to strengthen the areas where the sleeves meet the body. There are no company or designer's labels on these kimonos, but the quality of the workmanship are superior. The fabric is still very starchy and stiff. It will take some washings before it becomes soft...

This is a silk meisen Haori which is heiyo-gasuri. As for the heiyo-gasuri, warps and wefts are stencil printed separately and then machine-woven. Heiyo-gasuri made it possible to make more vivid, colorful and free design. It has reddish brown flowers with gray and yellow in beige ground. It has silk lining with beautiful stencil-printed flowers pattern and hand-braided cords in front. In excellent condition. Mid 20th century. 128cm x 78cm

Unique Japanese Uchikake (wedding gown), embroidered in thick light blue silk, the liner is red silk without padding except at the bottom hem. The embroidery and gold couching (some silver) work are all done by hand. The pattern is from ancient Chinese "Shokko nishiki". The colors of silk looks different on different parts of the gown. We laid the gown under the sun light when we took extra photos. The light changed everything...

Elegant Japanese Cotton Jacket with sashiko hand stitches, slits on the sides, new condition. The small stitches go through from the front to back or back to front. The stitches on the front were sewn right along the stripes that they do not show up much but it gave a nice, gentle texture to the front. Dimensions: 37" wide x 39" long

Cotton kimono with Nemaki Shibori (thread resisted rings) and Kanoko Shibori (Bound Dots) with a crest and characters motif. All hand-sewn and indigo dyed. The lining in the upper part is a recycled cotton towel (tenugui). In excellent condition. 20th century. 136cm x 140cm

This is a silk meisen haori ( jacket ). Meisen textile is a kind of pongee silk which is machine woven and has kasuri ( ikat ) pattern. Meisen kimono was very popular among young women as a casual kimono between 1920s and 1950s and many of them have eye-catching bold and contemporary design. Mid Showa period ( ca. 1940s~50s ). In excellent condition. 126cm x 87cm 49.6" x 34.3"