This listing is for an antique Japanese wedding kimono (uchikake) from The Fuller Collection. See below for details on the provenance of this beautiful garment.

In the Meiji Period (late 1800s to early 1900s), wedding kimono designs were more subtly elegant - less splashy than the vintage and contemporary ones we more often see. This uchikake is in surprisingly excellent condition for being, possibly, 100 years old. The weaving is completely entact and even the lining is in excellent conditon. (Granted, the lining could have been replaced - this happened often.)

The pattern is a tightly woven bamboo motif, mostly an olive green but with brown accents here and there. It's a very subtle design with a softly elegant aspect - an understated display piece for a sophisticated eye.

Excellent condition, silk, but slightly smaller than more contemporary versions. It measures approximately 60" long, 52" across the sleeves and shoulders, and 46" around the middle. We offer sturdy wooden rods for hanging these dazzling displays - see options above.

The Fuller Collection – originally over 2000 kimono – was the passion and pride of Richard Fuller of Chicago, IL and Wabasha, MN. Richard served as a US Marine in post-war Japan, and there began his love of and appreciation for vintage Japanese kimono – especially wedding kimono. Richard saw that the mastery and artisanship of traditional Japanese textile techniques was waning – threatening to die out altogether – which sparked his mission to promote this industry and preserve what he could. Click here to read one of his interviews.

Together with his wife Janith, Richard invested in thousands of kimono and obi, opening Wind Whisper West, a kimono gallery in Wabasha, MN in 2003. Most of the collection was sold there, but several hundred pieces remain. Richard passed in 2020, and Janith has consigned the remainder of the collection to Kyoto Kimono to offer through our website. We are honored and proud to be stewarding the Fuller Collection as each piece finds its new home and continues to bring wonder and beauty to admirers around the world.