Taisho - Art Deco

[dhermann1]

Another fun thing I've stumbled upon. In the early 1920's, while China was producing magnificent Art Deco influenced rugs, Japan was creating textile and other designs that were also influenced by western Art deco. They were called Taisho, which means sunny day.
Here are a couple of articles. Gorgeous stuff!

http://www.robynbuntin.com/Articles/taisho.htm
http://www.erikthomsen.com/catalogue/term/13
http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/687/art.asp
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/13/arts/design/13bard.html
http://kyototraditions.com/japanese-antiques-kimono-textiles-c-21_23.html
There is a lot of Taisho stuff on Ebay, which I can't post because they're active. But fascinating and beautiful stuff.
A little political history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taishō_period

 

[LaMedicine]

Taisho--大正-- is the era of the Taisho Emperor, and the precise date is between 1912-1926. The name "Taisho" is derived from a teaching in an ancient Chinese book on fate that can be roughly translated into " It is Heaven's Road(teachings) that very much should be taken and is (the) true (road)." The "Tai" is "very much"(the letter actually means big/large) and "Sho" is "true"(the letter means correct/right/proper).
If the concept that Taisho means "sunny day" is popular, then someone made an error in the translation. There is a culture magazine called "Taiyo" 太陽　which means "sun" that often features various Japanese traditional and vintage art works, so, you may be confusing Taisho with that.

Cuturally speaking, about 30 years, from the end of Meji (1868-1912) to the entire Taisho(1912-1926), to early (pre WWII) Showa(1926-1989), is often called Taisho Roman(ticism)/Showa Modern(ism), and various artifacts and kimonos produced during this period has a rather specific atmosphere in that western and oriental themes are cleverly combined to make new and exciting designs, some of which are still produced, or reproduced from time to time by craftsmen and makers who still have the blueprints of the original designs.
This was a period when old Confucianism/feudal based values were breaking down and new western ideas and values flooding in, which many artisans took to heart, and resulted in very creative artifacts and literature.