企画展示

Outline of Exhibition

If you found an old kimono, you might want to know about its history and wonder when it was made, what kind of techniques were used to make it, why it has the type of pattern it does, who wore it, and what the tale of its survival is. You would not be alone in wanting the answers to these questions. This exhibition is an attempt to delve into the history of kimono and other dyed and woven articles. It features surviving dyed and woven articles that were donated to Japanese shrines and temples, as well as those excavated from burial mounds in Korea. The items on display with their tales of survival are accompanied by inscriptions that include information on their users and wearers and the period from which they originated. These dyed and woven articles have much to say about their own histories. By gathering together mainly dyed and woven articles donated to Japanese shrines and temples and articles excavated from Korean burial mounds, this exhibition traces their history through a close examination of their shapes and forms, what could be thought of as their 'portraits.'

Exhibition Lineup

This exhibition will be held in two halves: The first half runs from Tuesday, October 15 to Monday, November 3, and the second half from Thursday, November 6 to Sunday, November 30. Each half will feature different items.

Part 1: From the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period

This part features a collection of dyed and woven articles from Japan dating from the Kamakura period up to the beginning of the Edo period, the initial phase of the kosode kimono, a direct antecedent of today's kimono. Items on display include cloth dedicated to Shinto and Buddhist deities that was custom made to extol virtue and beauty, as well as garments and other items made from garments. We explore values that determined which types of dyed and woven articles were prized above others. We also take a look at the first signs of individual expression connected to these values that emerged during the process by which kosode became the main form of dress.

Part 2: Early Modern period - Items made from garments

Here we feature items from Japan dating from the middle of the Edo period, by which time the kosode had cemented its position as the main form of dress. We examine the changes in techniques and patterns that took place by featuring only items that were made from garments such as kosode, Noh costumes and obi (kimono sashes).

Part 3: The world of Buddhist ornamentation at an imperial family temple - Ornamental items from theShorin-in Temple

This part of the exhibition gathers together cloth banners and altar cloth (uchishiki) from Shorin-in Temple in Kyoto, which was rebuilt as the ancestral temple of Kan'in-no-miya Haruhito Shinno (1758-1818). Most of these items were made from garments worn by women in the imperial family, the Tokugawa family and the nobility. Thus, these ornamental items from Shorin-in Temple illustrate facets of garments worn by women of high social rank in the latter part of the Edo period.

Part 4: Dyeing and weaving goods of Korea

This section displays excavated garments from burial mounds in Korea dating from the 16th to 19th centuries.

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Note: Please note that items in the exhibition are subject to change.