This listing is for a vintage Japanese kimono created with meisen (ikat) woven silk.

This kimono features an unusual motif!  The background is an overall small grid in bright pink against a black silk. Floating against that grid are a series of blue-gray waterwheels, once a common site in the villages of old Japan.  The opening of each barrel is yellow, which means that the wheels are rotating counter-clockwise.

The lining does have some small holes but would not be noticed when worn or displayed.

To add one of our simple cotton sashes for $15, click the option above.

If you're going to display this kimono and want to add a sturdy but simple hanging rod, click that option below. (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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