This listing is for a vintage Japanese haori (kimono jacket).

We love the patterning on this haori. The background is a mosaic-style pattern in gray, light pink and light yellow. The elements floating along are house-shaped and indeed include one of two scenes depicting western-style houses. One iteration has a single house and the other has two houses, each with a red roof and surrounded by trees.

Crisp silk, excellent condition, likely from the 1950s or 60s.

If you're going to wear this haori and want to accessorize it with a pair of haori himo, click the option for that above.

If you're going to display this haori and need a sturdy but simple hanging rod, click that option above. (The rod must be shipped separately.)

The traditional dyeing and weaving technique used to create this patterning is called meisen or ikat, and it involves dyeing the threads in a pattern before they are woven so that the images emerge on the loom. It's a fascinating and time-consuming process that takes great skill from many artisans. Watch the video below to be amazed.

Meisen kimono became popular in Japan in the Taisho Period of the early 1900s, after the sumptuary laws of the feudal period ended and "common folk" were once again able to wear colorful clothing. Even though the ikat process is time consuming and requires many steps and skill, meisen kimono were an affordable option for Japanese women who were looking to be fashionable. Art nouveau and art deco designs were popular, along with more traditional florals and geometrics that became exaggerated or expanded.

Here's a link to the Friis Collection website, which offers more detail about how meisen became popular in Japan as well as a gallery of her stunning meisen collection. And here's a link to the Chichibu Meisen Museum outside of Tokyo, where the process and the garments are celebrated.
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