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The Japanese Kimono
“For sheer gorgeousness, there are few garments that can rival the Japanese kimono. The finest examples of the robe, executed with extreme sensitivity to material, composition and colour, are masterpieces of art. The kimono (earlier forms being called a kosode) can be traced back as far as the Nara period (645-794), but it was in the brief, exuberant Momoyama period (1568-1600) and today, although urban Japanese generally wear Western-style clothing, the kimono is still worn on ceremonial or formal occasions and at home. Antique kimonos are avidly
collected by connoisseurs of textiles; many kimonos are on displays in museums.
Those of us who cannot afford to purchase these matchless garments can
appreciate their variety and splendour by seeing the way they were depicted in
the thousands of woodblock prints of the school of ukiyo-e („pictures of
the floating world“). These prints were first made at the end of the
seventeenth century, initially in black and white, but soon after in full colour. A tremendous break with the classical art forms, they were popular with
the rapidly rising merchant and artisan classes in such cities as Edo (modern
Tokyo). For their subject matter, the
ukiyo-e artists drew upon what interested the common man: flamboyant Kabuki
actors, sumo wrestlers, landscapes and street scenes. A favoured topic was
women from all stations of life – from housewives and teahouse attendants to
the geishas and oiran (most alluring and cultivated courtesans) of the
Yoshiwara (licensed „pleasure quarter“ of Edo). (The oiran can be identified in
the prints by the obis – wide sashes, frequently of luxurious stiff
brocades – that they wear tied with the bow in front, other women wearing them
with the bow tied behind. They are also marked by their elaborate hairdos held
in place by large pins.) But whether worn by the worldly
oiran or by the simple townswoman, the kimono was marked by extraordinary
inventiveness of decoration. The fabrics used included cottons and far richer
silks and satins. No two garments were ever precisely the same. Designs could
be painted directly onto the fabric (in some instances by such masters as Ogata
Korin), or they could be applied by stencil, tie-dyeing, starch-resist dyeing
(an Edo refinement), appliqué or embroidery. Combinations were frequently used
on one kimono. Using this variety of technique,
designers were able to give their imagination full play in decorating the
kimonos. Geometrics, florals, stripes, checks, plaids, animals, landscapes,
characters, mon (circular crests) and objects from daily life all found
their way onto the robes. Patterns were superimposed on patterns, asymmetrical
compositions being favoured. Patchwork incorporated fragments from worn kimonos
that were too fine to be discarded. At its best, a kimono could be a
wonderfully studied garment filled with allusions and poetic sentiment: One
particularly fine Edo kosode, for example, is of a white figured satin, the
decoration consisting of an evocative arrangement of maple sprigs and the
character for „deer“.” (Adapted from
Ming-ju Sun:
Japanese Kimono, 1986)
Below is my first painting of a Japanese kimono, painted in 2004. This painting is held in a private collection in Germany.
To view a larger size of the image, click on the image itself. Please note that with some
paintings, the vibrancy and clarity is somewhat diminished due to the photos'
pixel size for the internet.
This is my second painting of a Japanese kimono, currently in a private collection in the US.
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