This summer kimono showcases a bold striped composition that reflects both traditional Japanese aesthetics and contemporary international design influences. The garment features a striking pattern of alternating vertical stripes in deep navy blue, soft powder blue, and cream, punctuated by crisp golden yellow accent lines that add visual rhythm and sophistication to the overall design. This color palette demonstrates the period's embrace of cleaner, more geometric approaches to kimono decoration, moving away from the elaborate pictorial motifs of earlier eras toward a more streamlined modernist sensibility.
The use of gauze fabric indicates this kimono's function as summer wear, designed for comfort and breathability during Japan's humid summer months. The lightweight, semi-transparent quality of the gauze creates subtle layering effects where the stripes overlap and interact, adding depth to what might otherwise be a simple linear pattern. Within the cream and light blue stripes, delicate silkscreened patterns emerge, featuring what appears to be stylized floral or wave motifs that maintain connection to traditional Japanese decorative vocabulary while being executed in the modern silkscreen technique.
The detail reveals the technical precision of the silkscreen process, showing how the patterns are applied with remarkable consistency and clarity. The diagonal linear elements and organic motifs within the lighter stripes create a sophisticated counterpoint to the bold vertical structure, demonstrating how 1930s Japanese textile designers successfully integrated new printing technologies with traditional design sensibilities. The fine weave of the gauze fabric is evident in the detail, showing the open, breathable structure that makes this garment ideal for summer wear while still maintaining the formal elegance expected of a kimono.
It measures 47 inches (119 cm) from sleeve-end to sleeve-end and stands at a height of 59 inches (150 cm).