Featuring rare and hand-crafted kimono from the Edo period to today, Kimono is a brand-new, NGV-curated exhibition, June 4 thru Oct 5 2025, that explores the timeless elegance and enduring appeal of this iconic Japanese garment. Celebrated throughout the world for its meticulous craftsmanship and sophisticated sense of style, the kimono has had an indelible influence on global art, design and fashion culture since Japan opened its borders to the world in the mid-nineteenth century. Details can be found at the NGV website here
The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, announces upcoming exhibition: Kimono: The Triumph of Japanese Dress. Over 150 garments and artworks celebrate the artistry, craftsmanship, and cultural significance of one of Japan’s most iconic forms of dress. March 8, 2025 through June 8, 2025
In February 2024 arrives a new book titled "Ceremonial Textiles of Japan 18th to 20th Centuries" by Roger Yorke of Yorke Antique Textiles. The technical specifications are: 451 pages, 11" x 9.5", 3kg/7lbs, hardcover, spot varnishing, sewn binding, offset printed. ISBN 978-1-7387609-1-6.
"Japanese Ceremonial Textiles: 18th to 20th Centuries" showcases numerous color images featuring over one hundred of the rarest and most exquisite Japanese ceremonial textiles. The book includes over a hundred close-up shots to highlight the extraordinary craftsmanship behind these textiles. This edition is limited to 500 copies and is exclusively available outside online and traditional bookstores.
Japan is a nation renowned for its rich cultural heritage, which is profoundly reflected in its traditional ceremonies and rituals. A significant component of these ceremonies is the use of textiles, which play a crucial role in symbolizing cultural values, social hierarchies, and spiritual connections. The careful selection, crafting, and presentation of textiles in Japanese traditional ceremonies serve to preserve and transmit cultural identity, aesthetics, and values from one generation to another. From the vibrant kimono to the meticulously woven gift and altar cloths, textiles are integral to the essence of these ceremonies, encapsulating the essence of Japan's history, spirituality, and social structure.
More details about this publication, and how to order, can be found here
The new book, Art Kimono - Aesthetic Revelations of Japan 1905-1960, boasts the most thorough representation of Kimono art to date, but in addition, about two hundred of early to mid-20thcentury vintage ethnographic images of geisha, actresses, models, and citizens, all wearing artistic examples of the iconic garment; plus, over 100 original kimono-related illustrations dating back to the early 1900s.
Learn about the amazing skill, work, and artistry that was put into creating these bold, inventive, and sophisticated examples. For additional information about this publication, view here
“Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collection” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has confirmed it: The kimono is one of the pre-eminent artistic mediums of the 20th century." as per Will Heinrich of the New York Times. Read full article here
"Pursuit and Inheritance of Beauty "-Kimono of the Marubeni Collection-". Read article here
Japanese artisans between 1890 and 1940 crafting
superb synthetic-dyed silks with a vastly increased colour
and design palette that were, in some aspects, superior to
those created during the preceding decades. See Arts of Asia article here.
From geisha gown to 21st-Century fashion statement, the kimono is a quintessentially Japanese garment entrenched in symbolism.
Japan invented modern art: he V&A’s new gallery of art by Japanese masters shows how their free, sensual and subversive works revolutionized the west’s way of seeing the world. See article here.
The invention in Japan of [Kaga] yuzen dyeing in the mid 17th century revolutionized painting on silk kimonos. See article here
The exhibition that opened on July 15 at the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum is an absolute gem for anyone interested in Japanese historical dress or kimono. Held in conjunction with the Kyoto Dyeing and Weaving Cultural Association, it traces women’s dress from 1,500 years ago to the Meiji period through reproductions of the clothing in each age. Link to this article here
A new exhibition at the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum in Tokyo, Japan features an extensive collection of women's kimonos over a 1,500-year history. The exhibition will run from July 15 to September 28, 2021. See article here
Why are Kimono so Expensive? Between the threading, the dyeing, the weaving, the sewing, and everything in between “the complexity of each step is mind boggling”, explains Sheila Cliffe. Read the article here
Special exhibition "Kimono KIMONO" At the Tokyo National Museum, about 300 items such as kimono from the Kamakura period to the present day are gathered.
See link here.
Edo Avant-Garde reveals the story of how Japanese artists of the explosively creative Edo period (1615–1868) pioneered innovative approaches to painting that many in the west associate most readily with so-called modern art of the 20th century. See link here.
The exhibition "Wearing Pictures-Setsuko Wakatsuki" Uchikake "Collection-" will be held from June 4th (Friday) to June 27th (Sunday), 2021 at the POLA Museum Annex in Ginza, Tokyo.
See article here
Kimono: the women’s garment shaping cross-cultural exchange
The social history of the kimono represents a unique cultural exchange between Japan and Europe
The superlative exhibition "Kimono Couture: The Beauty of Chiso" at the Worchester Art Museum. This exhibition and accompanying book represents the first in-depth exploration of the art and history of the kimono in Japan, told from the perspective of one of the country's oldest and most prestigious kimono houses still in operation today - the 460-year old House of Chiso. An excellent website overview of this exhibition can be found at the official Worchester Art Museum website here
How Japonisme Forever Changed the Course of Western Design. In the late 19th century, Japanese aesthetics and craftsmanship overtook Paris, inspiring a movement that would radically transform Europe’s visual culture. Our favorite passage: "Subtly but swiftly, European art’s Christian subtext was replaced by Shintoism’s reverence for the natural world — a philosophy in which everything from mountains to humans possessed spiritual energy" The New York Times article can be viewed here
The Enduring Haute Couture of a 466-Year Old Kimono House. How Chiso, a relatively obscure Japanese textile firm, keeps an age-old craft fresh. Read the article in Atlas Obscura here
The Tokyo National Museum presently has a large special exhibition called "Kimono KIMONO" that is reviewed by Fashion Press here
The kimono � from costume to catwalk, an article in the Guardian newspaper. Read this article here.
From Japan to Norway, a new generation embraces the kimono, an article in the Financial Times about the kimono exhibtion at the V&a. Read this article here.
When The Kimono Came West. Let's take a look at another time when kimonos did inspire the West and how admiration of Japanese culture influenced one of the greatest modern art movements the world has ever seen....Impressionism. A link to this ArtHistoryFashion article can be found here.
Arts of Asia magazine in their July-August 2019 edition published the article "Creating the Kimono: WEaving Material and Techniques" by Roger Yorke, partner in The Kimono Gallery and Yorke Antique Textiles. Check out the article here
Kimono, which was popular among young women from the Taisho era to the early Showa period, has many modern designs that are fascinating to us today. "Gorgeous Kimono Taisho, Showa Pattern Expression" will be held from December 20th (Thursday) to February 16th (Saturday) 2019 at the Bunka Gakuen Garment Museum. The Kimononippon.jp website has the article here
In the July-August summer edition of HALI textile magazine is an article about antique Japanese boys ceremonial kimonos by Roger Yorke, partner in The Kimono Gallery and Yorke Antique Textiles. Check out the article here
BBC recently published a short article on how Oshima tsumugi kimonos are created on the Japanese island of Amani Oshima. Read this article here.
Arts of Asia magazine in their Jan-Feb 2018 edition published "Kimono Aesthetics" article by Roger Yorke, partner in The Kimono Gallery and Yorke Antique Textiles. Check out the article here
The esteemed Arts of Asia magazine in their July-August 2017 edition published "The Kimono As Art" article by Roger Yorke, partner in The Kimono Gallery and Yorke Antique Textiles. Check out the article here
The Tokyo Weekender magazine has an excellent review of "The Social Life of Kimono" by Sheila Cliffe here
The Japan Times has a good review of the wonderful new publication "The Social Life of Kimono" by Sheila Cliffe on here
The Kimono Gallery was recently featured in Art & Antiques Magazine. Check out the article here
The Kimono Gallery website was mentioned as a resource in a Kimono-collecting article on Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation website.
The Huffington Post posted a review of the exhibit "Kimono For The Modern Age" curated by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibit features images of bold meisen silk kimonos created during the second quarter of the 20th century. Read this exhibit review here.
"A Brief and Stunning Visual History of the Kimono" is a Huffington Post review of the excellent book "KIMONO". Read this article here.
Here is a nice review - written by Edward M Gomez - of the landmark book "KIMONO". Read this review here.
The New York Times carried an insightful review of the MET Kimono exhibition "Kimono" A Modern History". Read it here.
The New York Times had an interesting article about the dying art of creating kimonos. Read this article here.
Some years ago the New York Times had a short article about a museum curator who was in love with the kimono as art. Read this article here.
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