This listing is for a vintage Japanese boy's formal kimono, called a miyamairi. These ceremonial kimono typically have a dramatic design in the center and are framed across the top and bottom with a dark band of color. Family crests are typically stenciled across the top section. This style of kimono makes a beautiful display and though they are wearable, they are not play clothes and are not likely to survive the play life of an active child! See video below for more about how these are worn at festivals.
The featured design is a large brown and gray hawk perched on a thick pine (matsu) branch. The pine boughs are uniquely shaded in bright blue, green, and yellow - bolder than what we usually see. Below the branch is a kabuto or samurai helmet. The background is cream with mountains and trees depicted on the front.
Another interesting and unique detail is the small bit of ivy painted on one of the back sleeves - perhaps it meant something significant to the original owner.
There are five blank circles, reserved for a family crest, suggesting that this kimono was never purchased or never actually worn, since the crests would be added before it could be worn.
Miyamairi have two main purposes. First, it is a ceremonial garment draped over an infant boy for his first visit to the shrine with his parents and grandparents to thank the gods for safe delivery of the child and pray for blessings. The kimono is wrapped around the baby and the long silk bands are tied behind the mom or grandmother who holds the baby during the ceremony. Secondly, miyamairi are worn for the Shichi-Go-San festival, when the boy is five years old and goes again to the shrine to pray for his and his family's good fortune. (See video below on the Shichi-Go-San Festival day for one young family in Japan.).
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