Bashofu kimono hand-woven of ito-basho, which is a family of banana tree. Both wefts and warps are hand-plied. The brown warp kasuri yarns are dyed with extract liquid from tree or root of "sharinbai", which is a family of rose, and the very dark blue weft kasuri yarns are dyed with Ryuku-ai, vegetable indigo in Okinawa. Bashofu has been woven in many Islands in Okinawa for everyday kimono or work wear. 20th century. It has some stains and holes. W:106cm, L:116cm

A cotton kimono (yukata) with bold shibori design. Handwoven and vegetable indigo dye. In excellent condition. 20th century. W:124cm, L:124cm.

Meisen haori (jacket) with dots pattern, which are double kasuri. Both warp and weft kasuri yarns are stencil-resist-dye. It has hand-braided cords in front. Mid 20th century. Generally, in good condition except for a few stains in the white silk lining. W:123cm, L:90cm

A pair of boro tabi (socks) with sashiko. The lining is thin cotton cloth. It has four metal straps. Both soles are lost. The first half of the 20th century. H:12.5cm, L:27cm

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

A baby's kimono made of cotton with katazome (stencil-resist-dye), which is imitating shibori pattern. It has thick cotton lining which is from the cold district, such as Tohoku. Generally, in good condition but two belts are damaged and stains in the lining. The 20th century. W:69cm, L:64cm

Sakiori coat whose wefts are strips from old vegetable indigo dye cotton cloth and warps are hemp yarn. Wefts are fine strips comparing with other sakiori items. The short sleeves are for ease of movement, as it is "hamagi", worn at the seaside. In good condition except for two mending patches. The first half of the 20th century. W:85cm, L:92cm

Cotton juban (under kimono) with shibori pattern whose techniques are Miura shibori and Ori-nui shibori. The collar cloth is silk crepe with woven pattern. It has thin wool muslin with pattern in both sleeves. In good condition except for several small moth holes. It is from Tohoku district where has cold weather in winter. The first half of the 20th century. W:123cm, L:125cm

Bashofu kimono hand-woven of ito-basho, which is a family of banana tree, for both wefts and warps. The blue stripe yarn is dyed with Ryukyu-ai, vegetable indigo in Okinawa. Bashofu has been woven in many Islands in Okinawa from old days, for everyday kimono or work wear. The first half of the 20th century. In good condition except for a few brownish stains. W:120cm, L:117cm

Bashofu kimono hand-woven of ito-basho, which is a family of banana tree, for both wefts and warps. The brown weft kasur and stripe yarns are dyed with extract liquid from tree or root of "sharinbai", which is a family of rose. Bashofu has been woven in many Islands in Okinawa for everyday kimono or work wear. The first half of the 20th century. In good condition except for a bit of wear in front. W:110cm, L:98cm

Silk meisen lined kimono with geometric pattern in blue, white, pink, green and black. Both warps and wefts kasuri yarn are paper stencil dye. In good condition. Mid 20th century. W:124cm, L:152cm

Silk meisen lined kimono with geometric pattern in red, green, yellow, black and gray. Both wefts and warp kasuri yarn are paper stencil dye. Mid 20th century. In good condition. W:126cm, L:145cm

Cotton futonji with beautiful kasuri in check pattern, which is handwoven. Warps and wefts are both hand-spun and vegetable dye, indigo and brown color. It is from Fukuyama city in Hiroshima prefecture (Bingo-gasuri). The first half of the 20th century. In excellent condition. W:131cm, L:140cm

Tsugaru kogin kimono made of vegetable indigo dye hemp whose warps and wefts are hand plied. It is made in Tsugaru region in Aomori prefecture in Tohoku district. Kogin-sashi is one kind of needlework (sashiko), stitches with white cotton yarn go horizontally and make geometrical patterns. It makes the hemp kimono warm with thick kogin in the cold district like Aomori, where it is hard to cultivate cotton. Both sleeves are "tsutsu-sode...

Tsugaru kogin kimono made of vegetable indigo dye hemp whose warps and wefts are hand plied. It is made in Tsugaru region in Aomori prefecture in Tohoku district. Kogin-sashi is one kind of needlework (sashiko), stitches with white cotton yarn go horizontally and make geometrical patterns. It makes the hemp kimono warm with thick kogin in the cold district like Aomori, where it is hard to cultivate cotton. It has thin indigo dye cotton lining and sashiko in the lower body too...

Makanai which is a kimono worn at home after work in the Nanbu region, where is the east part of Aomori prefecture. It is made of hemp cloth whose wefts and warps are hand-plied and lightly vegetable indigo dyed. The lining is machine-spun cotton. It has very fine sashiko with indigo dye cotton yarn. In good condition but has light stains in front as well as in the back. The last image is from the book "Michinoku-no-Kohu-no-Sekai" by Tanaka Chuzaburo. The first half of the 20th century...

Saiho-hinagata (or hinagata), the sewing sample which is a miniature sample to learn sewing. It was invented by an educator for saving time and textile using a special measuring rod. It was practiced in a girl's school from Meiji 7, 1874). Reduced scales were one-third in the beginning and one-quarter, one-half, one-fifth etc. The sewing technique was exactly same as the real size in details. Saiho-hinagata was designated as a significant tangible folk cultural asset...

Ensemble of 6 pieces of vintage jackets. The are hand sewn silk, probably from the 1970's (+/-). Dimensions and condition in enlargement text.

Japanese vintage dragonfly pattern hand-shibori indigo dyed cotton kimono. There is a very small amount of light soiling, but it is not noticeable. No damage. Size:: Length: 150cm (59") / Sleeve to sleeve: 125cm (49.2")

Meisen haori with colorful stripes which is double kasuri and both wefts and warps kasuri yarns are dyed with stencil (Heiyo-Kasuri). In excellent condition. 1950s to 60s. W:126cm, L:74cm

Juban (under kimono) made of hand-spun cotton with shibori design, dyed with vegetable indigo. The shibori technique of the top part is Te-Kumo Shibori (Hand-bound Spiderweb) and the lower part is Kanoko shibori (Bound Dots) and Boshi shibori (Capped Motifs) with mum design, which is dyed in Akita prefecture. Cotton cloth inside is also hand-spun and vegetable indigo dye. In good condition except for mending in the back (the last image). The first half of the 20th century. 121cm x 130cm

Woman's juban (under kimono) made of recycled cloth such as hand-spun cotton with Hinode shibori, which is vegetable indigo dye for the lower part, and cotton with katazome, for the top part. The first half of the 20th century. In excellent condition except for a few light stains in the white cotton lining. 124cm x 126cm

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

Sakiori obi hand-woven of cotton strips recycled from old cloth as wefts and hemp yarn as warps. Generally good condition for the age, but has some wear, thin parts. The first half of the 20th century. 12cm x 2m40cm

SASHIKO DUSTCLOTH WITH CRANE DESIGN

Unused dustcloth of recycled handspun cotton fabric with ‘sashiko’ (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sashiko) once originally used for cloth (kimono) or bedclothes for celebration (because of its auspicious design of cranes). Early 20th century, Japan...

A fisherman's work wear hand-woven of hemp for both wefts and warps. Both natural color and indigo stripes are hemp yarn, which are hand plied. It is from Tsushima in Nagasaki prefecture, an island located between Korean Peninsula and north Kyushu, and the textile is called Tsushima-asa. It had been woven till 1930s, but haven't been woven since then, so it is precious, especially in this excellent condition one. The first half of the 20th century, 110cm x 116cm

Cotton kimono called "yukata" with bold polka dot pattern. The dye technique is called "chusen" which is one kind of stenciled paste-resist-dye. Several 10s of layers of cotton fabric can be dyed by pouring the dye liquid. All hand-sewn and in good condition except for a very faint stain in the white cloth inside the back. 20th century. 126cm x 150cm

Futonji with two faces which are made of hand-spun cotton. One is katazome with chrysanthemum motif, dyed with bengala (red iron dioxide) and the other is checks dyed with vegetable indigo. Both sides have mending patches, breaks and holes. The first half of the 20th century. 144cm x 146cm

Cotton futonji with minimal shibori design whose technique is "Nui-shibori (folded and stitched). It is made in Asamai in Akita prefecture where shibori has been practiced since late 18th century and it was most prosperous in the second half of the 19th century, however it declined rapidly because of the machine spinning and chemical dye developed. The local people are trying to preserve the Asamai shibori technique now. In excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century...

COCOON BAG

Japanese cotton mesh bag used to contain silkworm cocoon balls so-called 'Mayubukuro', Showa period, 20th century, approx. 87 x 77 x 1cm (34.25 x 30.31 x 0.39in)...

Sakiori sodenashi (vest) handwoven of strips recycled from old cotton cloth for wefts, and hemp yarn for warps. Sakiori hanten and sodenashi were made mainly in districts along the Japan Sea of the mainland, where they have much snow and cold climate in winter. Piping cloth is indigo dye cotton. In excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century. W:49cm, L:86cm

A sashi (obi) made of plain weave silk with katazome design whose motifs are Edo Hikeshi (fireman) such as hanten (jacket) with brigade's marks, matoi (brigade's symbol) etc. Lining is twill weave black silk cloth. In excellent condition. The first half of the 20th century. 31cm x 4m12cm

Brown silk homongi formal kimono with dots in jacquard and with gold threads interwoven, so that the fabric sparkles when the light hits it. The upper part is undecorated, except for three crests of the Sakagami family on the back...

Chirimen (crepe) silk kimono imprinted with Okinawa bingata design of irregular bands of flowers and plants of the seasons, in roundels, on waves, on vines etc. The outlines and basic forms are in brown, ochre and brown-red, while the flowers and leaves are colored in the red, yellow, green, and purple...

Han-juban (short under kimono) made of plain weave silk and beni-itajime (clamp-board dye) with hand painted Yuzen design. The red dye is chemical which was practiced from Meiji period (late 19th century), after beni-itajime with beni(safflower), practiced in Kyoto in Edo period. The last image is beni-itajime with Yuzen dye. The lining is cotton. In excellent condition. W:57cm, L:70cm ...

A silk fukuro obi sash. In jacquard weave with 2 hues of gold-thread and red, green, yellow and brown silk. Clematis meandering upwards against a yellow-golden background, partially obscured by copper-golden stylized flower shapes.

The back of the obi is plain cream-colored silk, as is about 1.5 meters on the front, which would be invisible when wrapped around the body. The last 16.5 inches of the obi seamlessly fit onto the rest of the design.

Japan, Showa era, ca. 1960s-1990s.

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