Vintage Kimonos

[LaMedicine]

I have already posted the same thread in Powder Room, so, if this is redundunt, bartenders please feel free to remove.
However, I perceive that many of the gentlemen on this board are too polite to poke their heads into the Powder Room, but also are interested in kimonos (I have received some PMs from gentlemen with questions, so) so I am also posting the link here.

I have taken some photographs of my 85 year old mother's kimonos and put them up with explanations on an online album.
Vintage Kimonos
If you click on the individual photos, the explanations I have put up will come up as well as the enlarged photos.
The kimonos are from mid '40s (some actually probably from late '30s-very early '40s before the then Japanese government declared kimonos an extravagance and unpatriotic in times of war, as my mother says that she remembers wearing a few of them in her maiden days) that were part of her trousseau (my parents were married in 1948) to very early '60s. This was a period when kimono construction underwent some very subtle changes which will help discern between vintage kimonos and the more modern (post '50s) kimonos.

For those who are interested, I hope you'll enjoy.

 

[LaMedicine]

I have added a few more obi/sash pics.

 

[LaMedicine]

Kimono maintenance, repair and storage

In Japan, there are craftsmen who specialize in kimono maintenance and repair. This does not mean just cleaning and sewing, it also includes taking out stains, re-touching the hand painted motifs, and changing the base colors of the fabric if needed or desired. If there are stains that are hard to take out, then they even add motifs that match the original motif over the stains. Things that are never done with western clothes.

I took some of my mother’s kimonos to such a craftsman, to have them checked for damages and suggestions on the repairs. He told me that all of them were in very good condition, but there were some stains that had to be taken care of before they got any worse. He also told me some characteristics of the paints and the difference from present day methods which I should be aware of when cleaning is needed.

The original Yuzen technique of fixing the paints onto the fabric was to mix the colors with rice-base paste. These days, the paints are covered with a thin film to protect the paints further. The newer kimonos can be easily dry cleaned. The older kimonos can be dry cleaned also, but it has to be done by someone who has special knowledge of how to treat these paints. The rice-base paste also allowed for the paints to be removed relatively easily, and a new design painted over. One of my childhood kimonos were actually prepared this way. My mother had one of her kimono with motifs that had become too childish for her, but still too mature for me, treated and the original paints removed. Then, a motif fit for my age bracket was chosen, and the kimono dyed anew.

So, if you have any vintage kimonos that need cleaning, it’s actually best not to touch it as no one outside of Japan would have the necessary techniques to treat the kimonos as they should be treated. You could have the paints crack and peel off, ruining the motif.

Kimonos should be stored folded flat along the seams and placed in a relatively dry place, though not too dry—just dry enough that molds don’t form. To prevent the paints from staining the surface that is in contact with each other, thin tissues of paper should be placed between the folded surfaces where the motifs are painted. They should not be stored with wool. Silk by itself is relatively worm-proof, so no moth balls are needed unless they are stored together with wool. Here, we either use chests made of paulownia wood or wrap in sheets dyed with turmeric for best protection. If you leave the kimonos hanging, the fabric will become distorted from its own weight, and if left out in the light for a long time, the dyes will fade.

 

[LaMedicine]

Men's kimono

Men's kimono are not as colorful as women's. However, the fabrics can be just as detailed, sometimes even more, as the designs of the vast majority of men's kimono are woven rather than stencil or hand dyed as with women's kimonos.

I had one of my grandfather's kimono ensemble--kimono and haori (jacket)--altered into a woman's ensemble a couple of years ago. The fabric is more than 60 years old, though the linings are new. The fabric is Ooshima tsumugi, a pongee.
The threads are dyed and fixed repeatedly with extracts from a tree called Sharinbai(Rhaphiolepis umbellata) a tree that is related to plum trees and roses, and mud with iron in it, until the silk threads turn a deep brown--almost black--color. This method is called "Doro-zome", mud dye.

Showing off the haori lining. The design is a replica of early Showa(late 1920s) stencil print.

The details of the fabric. You can see how intricate the woven pattern is against the US quarter coin.

Close up of the splash pattern. The color is a little bit off because of the magnification.

 

[Tomasso]

I want one!

LaMedicine, how much are we talking about?


Sorry to be such an American.

 

[Tomasso]

BTW, have they any pockets?




They are ridiculously beautiful garments.

 

[LaMedicine]

Ummmm....Ks Seriously. I mean, they are 100% silk
I could check out the kimono recyle shops (second-hand stuff) to see what the going rate is here, I'm not sure of men's kimonos, I only check women's stuff Judging from the tags on women's kimons, probably around $500-1K, but it may be more.
Stuff on eBay are much less expensive, but I don't think I see many men's kimono there.

No, no pockets. Some people tuck in a small wallet into their chest, hankies and tissues can be thrown into the sleeve (nothing heavy, that's going to pull the sleeve and distort the profile) so many men carry small bags.

 

[scotrace]

They are ridiculously beautiful garments.

YES they surely are. I am enjoying this thread very much.

 

[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 including 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.

 

[Feraud]

Thanks for taking the time to post the text and pictures.
This is very interesting.

 

[just_me]

LaMedicine - They are gorgeous. Thanks so much for the pictures and the information.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Thank you posting this outside of the Powder Room, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise.

My favorite Go player, Yoda Norimoto always wears a traditional komono to play championship games. I don't know if they are vintage, but they are very sharp.
Here are some pictures from the most recent Kisei title:

More pictures and the game records can be found at the Yomiuri Online keisi homepage.

 

[LaMedicine]

My favorite Go player, Yoda Norimoto always wears a traditional komono to play championship games. I don't know if they are vintage, but they are very sharp.

Wow. I didn't think there would be Go fans outside of Japan.
To those of you who do not know what Go is, it's a game that's like a sophisticated Othello. As a matter of fact, Othello was devised from Go.
Shogi is Japanese chess.
The contestants of the most prestigeous games of professional Go and Shogi always play in semi formal kimono. I don't know if there's a written rule about this, or just an unspoken agreement. However, when you think of the long hours the contestants spend sitting on their knees, kimonos are better fit for the wear and tear than the western suit--can you imagine the kind of stress western pants will have to suffer if worn that way? The knees will give out in just one game lol

Thank you for putting up these pics, I was looking for some men's kimono pics, but since my hubby doesn't wear (don't own either ) kimono, I was looking for some good ones.
Men's formal-semi formal kimono is what Yoda is wearing--the haori and hakama ensemble. Haori is jacket, hakama is the skirt like pants. In this combination, the kimono is called nagagi, meaning long clothes.
When men wear just the nagagi for comfort and relaxation in the home or a hop on town, with or without the haori, we call the style kinagashi, meaning worn as is, and this style is casual.
The hakama is what makes the style formal/semi formal. The material of the fabric is what differentiates formal and semi formal.
Yoda's style is semi formal. Formal is solid black haori and kimono with 5 family crests on both, one in the back, one each on the back of the sleeve, and one each on the chest. The haori-himo, the haori tie must be white. The hakama is gray and white pinstripe material called Sendaibira.
I don't think his kimonos are vintage, but then, the style in itself hasn't changed for 200-300 years. This was the formal style for commoners from the latter half of the Edo(1603-1868) era. The samurai and kuge (nobles--the lords and families of the Imperial court in Kyoto) formal kimonos were much more, well, formal and stylized.
You can also see in one of the pics the white tabi, the two toes socks. These are made of cotton, or linen for summer. They open at the back ankle, and are closed with a kind of flat pin thrust into threaded loops. I need to take some pics of tabi, and also hunt up picks of men's zori, called setta, and men's geta. I need to go to my favorite kimono store this afternoon, so I think I'll ask them to let me take pics of men's footwear that they carry.

 

[LaMedicine]

Mens' foot wear

Setta (zori) and geta. Geta is casual and as with women, it can be worn barefoot or with tabi.

Side veiw.

Oh. Please ignore the price tags, I asked the sales clerk if I could take these FYI pics when I went to my favorite kimono store this afternoon. lol

 

[just_me]

LaMedicne - here's the detail of a kimono on the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens website. The Morikami Gardens is one of my favorite places to spend time.



http://www.morikami.org/index.php?submenu=Collections&src=directory&view=exhibits

 

[Harp]

Thank you for putting up these pics, I was looking for some men's kimono pics, but since my hubby doesn't wear (don't own either ) kimono...

...just a gi and obi guy?
Domo arigato LaMedicine.

 

[LaMedicine]

At a glance, I thought this was a detail of a wedding Uchikake, the outermost kimono in a bridal ensemble. Sure enough.

Here's an obi that the gentlemen might find amusing. This is one of my choice when I go out for a few drinks with friends. I have the bustle and band against the obi because I was experimenting which combinations looked the best when taking this pic.
Drunken cat and mouse. lol

 

[LaMedicine]

...just a gi and obi guy?

lol lol lol Sorry to disappoint you, but not even that lol lol lol

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Drunken cat and mouse. lol

lol lol lol That is hilarious!lol lol
Where does this picture fit in with traditional/non-traditional styles? Is having an obi with a cartoonish design like this a 20th century thing, or were there humorous depictions like this put on earlier designs?

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Wow. I didn't think there would be Go fans outside of Japan.
To those of you who do not know what Go is, it's a game that's like a sophisticated Othello. As a matter of fact, Othello was devised from Go.

fftopic:
I don't want to go too far off-topic, but the game of Go is one of my passions and I take every chance I get to talk about it
There are a great number of Go fans in North America as well as worldwide. Thanks to the Internet the number of Go players is growing all the time. It's true that Othello was inspired by Go, but the two games are very different. A western game that is more similar is Pente, which is directly based on the Japanese game Gomoku. Gomoku is to Go what Checkers is to Chess. If anyone is interested in learning more, you should check out The American Go Association homepage at http://www.usgo.org.