The Modern Kimono
Every kimono has a story to tell. That tale is increasingly being influenced by the West.
Cultural and political changes in Japan might best be measured through the kimono. The traditional garment saw changes in the way it was produced, designed and made, especially at the beginning of the 20th century. If every kimono has a story to tell, that tale is increasingly being influenced by the West.
There’s not that many pieces of clothing that comes with as much history and with as many rules as the kimono. Some are meant to be worn by single women while others are reserved for the married. Some are only worn at weddings. The way they are stored, as LACMA’s blog notes, carries its own protocol. Even the way the sleeves are folded can let a person know whether the owner of the kimono is dead or alive.
“Left over right means that the kimono’s owner is alive, and right over left means she is dead” -Eloise Lynton, on the folding of a kimono’s sleeves.
Sueko Oshimoto, a kimono master and costume designer, loves wearing kurotomesode, the most formal kimono for married women. But, often has to explain to people she can’t wear them every day, and are only for special occasions.
But even kimonos are not immune to change. Indeed, they’re the piece that, as scholar Terry Satsuki Milhaupt writes, “has long served as a tableau on which to inscribe, describe and absorb the effects of modernization.”
How do you say “Times they are a changin’” in Japanese?
As Japan entered the Taisho period (1912–26), the kimono still held its place in fashion. It was its style that had changed. Europe had developed new machinery and synthetic dyes that changed the way these pieces were produced and designed. Alongside traditional motifs, the kimono now had intense colors and abstract designs. These were not your grandmother’s kimono.
Artists would later be inspired by art movements in the West, including Surrealism and, after World War 2, Abstract Expressionism, when the making of these pieces was being subsidized by the government.
It wasn’t just art movements that inspired these artists. Space exploration, including Sputnik in mid-flight, is also depicted in one kimono at LACMA.
A combination of traditional and modern, the woman’s kimono with mountain landscape shows the traditional depictions of nature juxtaposed with vibrant reds, and strong yellows.
There is a renewed interest around kimono. Kimono for the Modern Age at LACMA displayed over 30 pieces at the Pavilion for Japanese Art this fall. The Met’s show Kimono: A Modern History is displaying over 50 dating back to the 18th century and From Geisha to Diva can be seen at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
