This rinzu (damask) silk kimono is adorned mainly with traditional Japanese music instrument motifs using various techniques like yuzen-painting, bokashi shading, couching, and simple embroidery highlights. It features a single mon (family crest) and a base pattern of bold "hiogi" (decorated folding fan) motifs on high-quality silk. The blue symbolizes the sky while the soft green represents the earth. Motifs include a "kiji" (pheasant), phoenix, tsuzumi (hand drum), and "shou" (wind instrument), with bokashi shading on the susomawashi (inner lower lining). Measuring 48 inches (122 cm) from sleeve-end to sleeve-end and standing at a height of 63 inches (160 cm), this kimono, with its semi-formal single-family crest and unique motifs, suggests it was worn at a specialized celebration, possibly by a geisha or for a particular event. The creation of such a specialized kimono involved significant expense and required skilled artists considerable time to paint the intricate and diverse motifs, making this piece exceptionally rare and distinctive.

This artwork is featured on pages 392-393 of Ceremonial Textiles of Japan, 18th to 20th Centuries. This book, published by Yorke Antique Textiles, can be previewed or purchased on our website here.

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