Vintage Kimonos

[LaMedicine]

I have a beautiful red kimono I bought pre-loved in Kyoto in 1997. It is currently in a shipping container making its way to the UK with all my other possessions. Do you have any advice on websites or experts who would be able to look at a photo of it and tell me if it is 'any good' - as in what kind of people would have worn it, approximate age etc.?

I probably can to some extent. I'm certified as a senior level kimono culture expert. I have some explanations of the details in the album of my mother's kimonos. When you click to enlarge the individual photos, the explanations will come up with them. You can start out there.

Web sites, I will have to do a search, since what research and looking I do, I do in person, nothing beats looking at the real stuff and handling them in person, and talk directly with the craftsmen and specialists.

 

[zetwal]

Lovely and fascinating -

 

[MegamiOrchard]

Many thanks LaMedicine, I will post photos once my belongings arrive, and also try and describe the fabric etc. as much as I can. I am pretty sure it is not actually worth much, but I love it so much I don't really care, it would just be nice to know more about it.

 

[LaMedicine]

Footwear

I realized that though most of you have seen at least photos or paintings of people in kimonos, most of you do not have an idea of what footwear looks like save for that it's something like a flip flop.
None of them are vintage, but here are my stash of zori and geta. Geta is made of wood, zori basically of leather, though pre-WWII, the mainstream was tatami (rush) matting surface and leather bottom.
It is a faux pas to wear zori barefoot, they are worn with the two-toed tabi.
Geta on the other hand, is very casual and worn barefoot most of the time, especially when wearing yukata in the summer.
Even in the summer, if one is wearing a proper kimono (as opposed to the yukata, which is cotton casual wear) then a pair of tabi has to be worn.
Also, although ready made pairs are widely on the market, stores carry the soles and thnogs separately as well, so the customers can choose the combinations to their liking. Most of the zori in the pics were chosen and aquired in this manner.

The zori on the lower left, and in the middle of the second row in the pic below are both faced with tatami matting, with wood bottoms, and for more casual kimonos.
Other zori are leather, with the exception of the silver and orange pair in the pic below, which is made of brocade and only for the most formal kimono. The occasions for the rest range from semi formal to casual incuding a couple that can be worn for formal occasions as well.

The zori on the left to the red zori has panama soles and is for the summer. However, the other lighter colored zori can also be used in summer.
The two pairs on the lower right are geta. The two-toothed black one is the traditional geta. The unpainted one is shaped like a zori. The most popluar material for geta is paulownia wood.

 

[maybelaughter]

I have added a few obi/sash to the album. I have a few more obi to add, but haven't photographed them yet.

Vintage Betty, my favorite is this one.

that is my favorite as well. beautiful!

thank you so much for sharing for knowledge and the beautiful photos of these amazing pieces. your mother's kimonos are breathtaking.

i enjoyed seeing the photos of you through the years in kimonos. i love the Takeshi Kitamura obis - i also love how Japan has their National Treasures, it's such a beautiful concept. we watched a film featuring a few of these amazing people, a potter, a papermaker, dying with indigo - fascinating!

i also found the more pictorial pieces to be interesting - the ones that aren't designed in what i think of as "traditional" sort of motifs. the Christmas themed pieces are so neat - i didn't realize that this style of imagery was used in kimonos! this cat in the moon, with pawprints, obi is my favorite!

 

[Classydame]

Thank you so much for sharing, the photographs are all so beautiful!

 

[LaMedicine]

i also found the more pictorial pieces to be interesting - the ones that aren't designed in what i think of as "traditional" sort of motifs. the Christmas themed pieces are so neat - i didn't realize that this style of imagery was used in kimonos! this cat in the moon, with pawprints, obi is my favorite!

Yes, along with the more traditional motifs that are seen with the more formal kimonos for specific social occasions like weddings and celebrations, the less formal kimonos often are designed with themes that are chic and fun.
This has been around for quite a while. For instance, this obi is a reproduction of what originally dates back to the 1920s.

The following are comtemporary designs, but fun, none the less.
Here's a another motif that you may find fun and interesting. A drunken cat and mouse. The bustle and band are shown together here because I was taking these pics when I was experimeting with some combinations. I often wear this obi when I am out with friends for a few drinks.

It is common to choose the kimono and obi along a theme. This was taken at the summer festival of my work place, when most of the staff wore yukata to match the occasion. I wore a regular summer kimono rather than a yukata, because the design of this kimono is called "Starry Sky" by the designer/craftsman, and the obi paired with this design is called "Galaxy Express" by the same designer/craftsman.

Detail of the print. The letters on the upper right is the signature of the designer/craftsman who designed and dyed this fabric.

Brocade obi titled "SWING". This is completely woven, not embroidered. Since this is brocade, it basically is for formal to semi-formal kimonos.

 

[LaMedicine]

Finally found a full body pic of my mother in the following kimono and obi combination.

 

[Lorena B]

What a beauty of prints, colors and shades.
LaMedicine, you have a genuine treasure!!

 

[CherryRed]

Vintage Japanese Kimono

A few weeks ago my Mom got me this kimono at an antique mall. The tag on it said it was brought back by the military in the 1950's. It has a lot of staining on the lining, and there is also a hole in the bottom front, but the embroidery is perfect and stunning. She paid a mere $16 for it.
I am curious to know more about it, should I try to get it cleaned etc. I have a feeling it is worth more then what we paid and don't want to damage it.
Any ideas and advice would be appreciated.

 

[rmrdaddy]

Looks beautiful!

Hopefully LaMedicine will chime in, she has a wealth of knowledege when it comes to all things kimono.

 

[Tomasso]

Hopefully LaMedicine will chime in, she has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things kimono.

Yep! We have an expert.

 

[LaMedicine]

@CherryRed

I need to ask a few questions, as well as suggestions on how to photograph such items before I can give some definite answers.
Can you spread it out spread eagle style and take pics? Please take a look at how I have photographed my mothers' in the first link in my siggy. That and close ups of the fabric and even just parts of the motifs are the best way to check things out to make a judgement.

1) Is there a back center seam? This is the most defining construction of whether it is an authentic kimono or not. If there is no back center seam, then it is not an authentic kimono, as the width of the fabric for kimonos are approximately 14" wide, so the back needs two panels. It does look like there is a center seam, it may be the quality of the pic, but in the close up of the pair of teals, it's hard to tell if there is a seam, or it's just a fold.

2) There is no shoulder seam on an authentic kimono, and the seam on the sleeves are on the underside also, not along the shoulderline.

3) The collar is so constructed that it is folded in half when worn, and is lined either with red silk for with those that date back before the early '50s, and white silk for those of later periods. There should be either a thread along the back inside collar, or a snap to hold the collar folded in half.

4) The front pic looks like it is constructed like an authentic kimono, but again, I can't say for sure because it's not spread out fully.
The location of the seams should be as seen in the lines of the following diagram, and there is also a side seam, with an opening under the arm pit, which I can see exists in the pic you have put up.

The numbers indicate the panels.
1. sleeves 2. bodice 3. gusset 4. collar 5. collar cover, made from the same fabric as the kimono.

5) How heavy is it? A lined kimono can weigh 2 1/2lbs or more.

6) The most common silk fabric used for kimonos is fine crepe(chirimen) or figured satin (rinzu). Silk brocade is often used for uchikake, Japanese bridal kimonos. Fine crepe is much finer than what you would find with western clothes. A sample of figured sating is the following pic, you can see the woven patterns on the fabric.

All in all I think it is a souvenir robe/kimono made for foreigners, rather than a kimono originally made for Japanese women. The main reason I think so is because the fabric is shiny, and looks like satin--not figured satin, but plain satin. Plain satin normally is not used for kimonos. Also, it looks like the collar is already folded and sewn in half. The embroidery is most likely done by hand, and is gorgeous. This probably was done by a true kimono embroidery craftsman, as post WWII, the average Japanese did not have the money for such extravagant kimonos, and many craftsmen turned to making souvenirs for a living. So, even if, as a kimono, it wasn't intended for use by Japanese women, as far as craftwork goes, it's authentic.

For cleaning/caretaking, the first thing to do is to determine if the fabric and the threads used in the embroidery are silk. If they are, you need to take it to a dry cleaner who knows how to deal with silk. If the fabric and thread are synthetic, then an experienced dry cleaner who will be careful with the embriodery should suffice.

 

[LaMedicine]

Some added info: measurments of kimono

1) The unfolded collar is just under 5" (12cm) wide.
2) The wrist to wrist measurment is around 50" (128cm) or so with older kimonos, while more recent kimonos may be a couple if inches longer.
3) The length of a woman's kimono from the base of the back collar to the hem is an inch or two shorter than the woman's height. This is because kimonos are worn tucked just below the waistline to drape and fit the body shape because kimonos as graments are sewn only in straight lines and can be folded flat for storage. Older kimonos average around 60-62" (155-158cm) in length as the average height was shorter, but these days, because the younger generation is generally taller, the length may go up to 65" (165cm) or so.
4) The length of men's kimono on the other hand is the same as the length of the base of the neck to the ankle.

5) Kimonos are sewn from a single bolt of fabric, in other words, one bolt of kimono fabric is for one kimono, and cut in such a way that no piece is left unused.

The numbers correspond with the numbers of the parts of the kimono diagram in my preceding post.
6) Kimonos should be stored folded flat along the seams, not just to prevent wrinkling, but to prevent the fabric from being pulled and becoming distorted due to the weight of the fabric if left hanging.

 

[CherryRed]

All in all I think it is a souvenir robe/kimono made for foreigners, rather than a kimono originally made for Japanese women. The main reason I think so is because the fabric is shiny, and looks like satin--not figured satin, but plain satin. Plain satin normally is not used for kimonos. Also, it looks like the collar is already folded and sewn in half. The embroidery is most likely done by hand, and is gorgeous. This probably was done by a true kimono embroidery craftsman, as post WWII, the average Japanese did not have the money for such extravagant kimonos, and many craftsmen turned to making souvenirs for a living. So, even if, as a kimono, it wasn't intended for use by Japanese women, as far as craftwork goes, it's authentic.

For cleaning/caretaking, the first thing to do is to determine if the fabric and the threads used in the embroidery are silk. If they are, you need to take it to a dry cleaner who knows how to deal with silk. If the fabric and thread are synthetic, then an experienced dry cleaner who will be careful with the embriodery should suffice.

Thank you SO much LaMedicine for sharing your knowledge!
I agree with that this must be a souvenir kimono. There is no back seam and it is smooth satin, not figured. It does not have shoulder seams but the collar is already folded and only lined with the same fabric as the inner lining. It definitely is hand sewn. I love the embroidery and am glad to know it is authentic.Even as a souvenir,do you think if cleaned it will be worth more then the $16 we paid? I am not planning on getting rid of it but am just curious.
Thank you again for your info and advice!!

 

[LaMedicine]

How one calculates its value is going to depend on a few factors.

I am not good at eBay and like prices as I don't do them, so I can't really say what's a reasonable value in that sense.

From the point of view of purely monetary value.
Since it's from the '50s, at that time, the exchange rate was 360 yen to the dollar. So, say if it had cost $16 then, it would have been worth 5,760yen at that time. Relatively speaking in terms of income, 5,000yen in the '50s would have been quite a large sum in Japan then, as compared to what $16 would have been in the US. Since this is a high quality product, it probably was acquired for someone special, which means it wasn't any ordinary inexpensive souvenir, so my guess is that it cost maybe somewhere in the vicinity of $30-50 at that time. I don't really know how much the US military in Japan were paid at that time (I am assuming that it most likely would have been someone in the military service who brought this back to the US, as these people would have numbered the largest of the Americans in Japan in that time span, in fact, they still are to this day, due to the many US bases here) but it would have had to be within reasonable range of their pay but expensive enough to be that *something special.*

On the other hand, such gorgeous hand embrodery is hard to come by today, as with the decline of kimonos for daily wear especially after WW II, and their being relegated mainly for clothes for special occasions, and even for special occasions, Western clothes being worn instead, demand and supply became unbalanced. With WW II many kimono craftsmen were drafted and never came back. Those who managed to come back, came back to a country that was struggling and had no need yet for extravagant kimonos, so they turned to making souvenirs as I wrote before. With the reduced need of well trained craftsmen due to the smaller demand for kimonos, many would have retired without training someone to take their place. So, today, the embroiderers we have are very expensive to engage. If a full kimono was made to order with such hand-embroidered design, the price probably will run up into the 20-30K or more in terms of dollars, and today's exchange rate is about 95yen to the dollar. Such kimonos, if embrodered entirely by hand, would take months to complete.

Generally, wearable vintage kimonos are priced here at around 10,000-30,000yen. More recent second-hand kimonos, depending on their condition, cost around a quarter of their original price--if it was 300,000 yen new (which incidentally, is not that expensive for a kimono, a good kimono for the most formal occasions can run above 1,000,000yen, those hand painted by famous craftsmen/artists can cost up to 5,000,000 yen, sometimes even more), second hand, it will likely be priced at about 75,000 yen. I do suppose eBay prices would be lower than that, but since we know how much labor is put into making one kimono, from the weaver to the designer to the painter and dye craftsmen, and other craftsmen such as embroiderers and gold guilters and seamstresses we consider the high price as reasonable and the price for quality and help contribute to keeping the traditional crafts in business and continue their repective trades.

Present day souvenir kimonos would be made of synthetic fabric, with machine print or machine embroidered, and cost between 5,000-10,000 yen, and probably won't even be made in Japan, actually...:eusa_doh:

 

[LaMedicine]

Kanreki Celabration

Not exactly vintage but.
We have some special celebrations when we turn certain ages, starting with Kanreki, which means return of the calendar to our birth year. The very traditional--no longer in use--way of noting the birth year was by the combination of the 12 animals of the revised Chinese Zodiac (I say revised, because the pig is replaced by the wild boar here) and the 5 elements of nature--wood, fire, soil, gold and water. 12 times five years, and the combination returns to what it was the year one was born. The celebrant is presented with a cap and vest to wear during the ceremony--or the merry making, whichever you prefer
For Kanreki, the color is red, then the next year is Koki , meaning very rare since ancient days, at 70, Kiju, happy celebration, at 77, Sanju at 80, Beiju at 88, Sotsuju at 90 and Hakuju (white celebration) at 99. From Sanju on up, the naming derives from the Kanji--Chinese--characters that can be broken down into characters indicating the respective numbers.
So, this year, my Kanreki has come, and the other day, we had a collective bash with a friend who also turned Kanreki in June and took our turns wearing the red cap and vest.

The kimono looks like a solid color but is actually black on red stencil print that belongs to a group of motifs called Edo Komon. Rather than stencil dyeing the red flower print onto black fabric, the bolt is first dyed solid red, then dye proof starch is applined using stencil patterns, and finally dyed black. The finished fabric is washed to wash off the starch, so the print appears. This is done all by hand. This particular motif goes back more than 400 years, and is a reproduction of a motif favored by the first Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, his is black on yellow. The pattern is slightly enlarged, a quarter coin covers about 10 flowers.

 

[LaMedicine]

Two keepsake obi.

I received two obi as memento of my grandmother and a deceased aunt on my father's side, earlier this week. Both date back to the late 1930s, pre WWII.
Grandmother's obi. The motif is travellers of the Edo era (1603-1868) along a major road. Mt.Fuji is seen in one of the panels.

Obi worn by my aunts (3 sisters) in their maiden days. One of the aunts present when I received the obi said that this was handed on down from the eldest to the other sisters as they grew up.
The motif is embroidered on gold and magenta check. Good luck symbols, objects and flowers are embroidered within a Tachibana (mandarine orange, also a traditional good fortune symbol) frame, surrounded by orange blossoms.

Back panel.

Front panel.

 

[LaMedicine]

Reproduction vintage prints.

Many Japanese kimono makers have histories that go back more than 100 years, a few over 400. These makers have kept samples and pattern books with the how tos of producing at least their representative products, so it is relatively easy to reproduce even the oldest motifs, so long as there are skilled craftsmen available to do the job.

One such maker is Okaju, founded in 1855. Its founder, Usaburo Okajima, was one of the first people to import chemical dye in 1868 from Germany. This caused a revolution in the making of kimono designs/fabrics. Up until then, the dyes used were natural dyes, derived from plant extracts, minerals extracted from rocks, and pigments extracted from sea shells and sometimes, even bugs. For the darker colors, threads had to be dyed repeatedly, or fabric design painted over and over to produce the required dark color. Yuzen dye was completely hand illustrated/painted by the craftsmen. With the availability of chemical dye, it became possible for *mass production* of Yuzen, in the form of stencil dye. Mutiple stencil patterns were used to print intricate motifs. This method is now called Kata Yuzen as opposed to the hand illustrated Tegaki Yuzen. Kata Yuzen made it possible for the emerging middle class commoners to aquire them, as opposed to Tegaki Yuzen, which were *only one* products, produced on order and in collaboration with the customer, which meant only the upper class were able to order such kimonos. Even if they are *mass produced*, Kata Yuzen is still hand made--printed by hand--requiring at least 20-30, sometimes more than 100, stencils to produce the prints.

For some years now, Okaju has been marketing reproductions of their historic prints, and the motifs range from purely Japanese subjects such as Ukiyoe, to motifs from the Western world, such as bisque dolls and sail ships. These prints were not designed for outer wear, but rather, as haura (linings of haori, the kimono jacket) and jyuban, the under kimono, as the prints would be too flamboyant to be worn as kimonos, though some were used as children's kimonos. Motifs for such articles range from humorous to exotic to horrific (like skulls floating on sea waves) to traditional. It is considered the ultimate of sophistication and chic in choosing the haura, and what the person chooses reflect his/her taste. Okaju also has published a book of the pictures of over 200 of their historic prints. I was able to aquire this book as a present when I bought a couple of bolts of their reproduction prints.

These are from early Showa (1926-1989), Showa Chic designs of the Taisho (1912-1926) Romantic/Showa Chic era.
Cigarette box lables.

As haura.

Toys and bisque dolls.

 

[LaMedicine]

I finally got around to wearing my mother's kimonos. I had to have them checked for damages, cleaned and resized for me (I am a few inches taller than my mother) by kimono specialists who specialize in renovating old (not necessarily vintage) kimonos over the past year, before I could wear them.

At a Christmas party last year.

The following combination.

The jyuban (under kimono) for this kimono. This is a repro, but the original design of this print dates back to the early 1900s.

On New Year's Day.
My mother ordered this kimono with specific thought towards the New Year parties held at the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC while my father was posted there.

The obi I found when browsing in a secondhand kimono shop. Obi's back motif. The weave is Tuzure, a kind of tapestry, and the entire motif is woven in, with both sides exactly the same, so if the original outer side is soiled, it can be resewn inside out.

For the New Year event at my work place. This is one of my mother's favorite kimonos. The obi's motif is willow branches loaded with miniatures of lucky items related to New Year traditions.

Close up of the motif. This is a kind of weave over weave. The base fabric is red and black stripe, with the hexagonal motifs woven over it. Since my mother wore this quite often, a lot of the motifs are becoming threadbare, exposing the base stripes.