This listing is for a vintage Japanese wedding kimono (kakeshita - a kimono layer under the uchikake) from The Fuller Collection. See below for details on the provenance of this beautiful garment.

Kakeshita are wedding kimono that are belted and worn underneath an uchikake kimono, but they are no less sophisticated and elegant. Kakashita are typically lighter weight, with a lighter padding at the hem, a yuzen-dyed rather than woven fabric, and patterning that may have a "blank" area at the waist where the obi would be tied.

This kakeshita is a contemporary version of the garment - possibly from the 1970s or 1980s, as suggested by the glittery dye used to highlight some of the design elements.

Wavy, wiggling bands of gold and black flow diagonally against a Japanese red (almost orange) background. Floating within those bands are hundreds of auspicious motifs: cranes, buddhist gems and magic mallets, pine, bamboo, scrolls, crests...and more. Some of these seem to float outside of the diagonal bands. Gold and glitter embellishment give the design a very modern look and feel - gorgeous. So much painstaking mastery it must have taken to produce the detail of this kakeshita....

We do offer hanging rods for displaying kimono - 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.

See the video below for how these are traditionally worn as well as some images of how to display a wedding kimono in your home or office.

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