A photographic introduction to items from the collection

Kimono from the modern age -- Garments and accessories of the Kurata family

There are some things that we simply can't throw away. Things we are fond of that we have taken great care of. Things full of memories. Things we have on hand while we can still look after them ourselves. But, what will happen when we die...?

It is perhaps out of similar sentiments that we receive frequent requests from people wanting to gift items to the National Museum of Japanese History. We are grateful for such kindness and well understand their wish to have items preserved permanently. Unfortunate though it is, we are not able to accept all requests. Acceptance depends on whether the items merit being stored at the Museum.

"Garments and accessories of the Kurata family" were gifted to the Museum in 2007. The number of kimono, obi, obi-jime and other accessories gifted total 285 items dating from the Taisho period through to the mid 1950's. Reasons for accepting this gift include knowing who the wearers were and the items' fine quality, rare historical value and excellent state of preservation.

The collection was gifted by Tokyo resident Yoko Kurata, who was born in 1920. One of Yoko's older sisters was the actress Teruko Nagaoka. "Garments and accessories of the Kurata family" comprises garments and accessories worn by Yoko's family. Yoko married Takashi Kurata (1913-1945), one of Japan's first cellists. Her father-in-law Kosuke Kurata was president of Nippon Fire-Proof Industry Company.

The Kurata family residence was situated in Omori Hakkeien, and Yoko and her husband Takashi built a new house at Usudasakaue. That is to say, the garments and accessories in the collection were worn in Tokyo during the modern era. Items of fashion dating from early 20th century Tokyo are more likely to have been lost through earthquakes and war. In this sense, the gifted are valuable resources. What is more, the tissue paper and labels on the items showing that they come from long-established high-end stores, such as Mitsukoshi, Isetan, Chikusen, Erien and Domyo, demonstrate that they were garments and accessories of the finest quality.

Here we will introduce some of the items in the collection.

Fig. 1: Long-sleeved kimono with hanatatewaku (flowery) mizuaoi bouquet motif
Fig. 2: Obi with hanatatewaku (flowery) motif
Fig. 1: Long-sleeved kimono with hanatatewaku (flowery) mizuaoi bouquet motif Fig. 2: Obi with hanatatewaku (flowery) motif

Yoko married Takashi Kurata in 1942, which means that she was a wartime bride. The long-sleeved kimono with hanatatewaku (flowery) mizuaoi bouquet motif (Fig 1) was the colorful 'oironaoshi' kimono she wore at her wedding reception and was provided by Takashi's mother, Junko. The pattern is a classical pattern based on the oyashiki style (Buke style) of the late Edo period. The predominant techniques of embroidery and a stencil-dyeing technique called kata kanoko are in accordance with the oyashiki style. On the surface, the kimono is gorgeous and there is no hint that there was a war going on. However, a closer look reveals that the techniques are on the simple side and the sewing has been flattened. The white silk panels are slightly yellowed in places. This yellowing is thought to have occurred before the kimono was made, which suggests that the fabric might have been carefully preserved for later use. The obi with hanatatewaku (flowery) motif (Fig 2) was used for this kimono. On a sad note, the couple was married but three short years, as Takashi died of tuberculosis shortly after the war.

Fig 3: Kimono with flowing water and dianthus motif
Fig 4: Kimono with water iris motif
Fig 3: Kimono with flowing water and dianthus motif Fig 4: Kimono with water iris motif

Many of the women's kimono were passed on to Yoko by her mother-in-law, Junko. One person's kimono not only tells us of the fashions of the day, but also gives us a good idea of an individual's taste. Many of the kimono that Yoko inherited from Junko have blue or grey as the background color with only a faint pattern at the bottom of the left-hand side. Junko was known to favor this sort of design. The kimono with flowing water and dianthus motif (Fig 3) is a good example of Junko's taste. The dianthus were drawn on top of white lines of flowing water using white paint, gold paint and black lacquer.

We may say that the kimono with water iris motif (Fig 4) is a colorful kimono for Junko. The design with colorful flowers at the bottom made using the Yuzen dyeing technique to create shades in the style of western movies was a popular design in the Meiji and Taisho periods. The motif at the bottom is rather low compared to similar designs, which would suggest that Junko liked motifs that were restrained.

Fig 5: Kimono with water's edge motif
Fig 6: Long-sleeved kimono with flowing water, pine, bamboo and plum motif
Fig 5: Kimono with water's edge motif Fig 6: Long-sleeved kimono with flowing water, pine, bamboo and plum motif

The introduction of machine technology from the West saw a diversification in the ways of weaving fabric in the period from Taisho through early Showa. A variety of intriguing methods were adopted for weaving light fabric used for summer kimono. One such fabric has been used for the unlined summer kimono with water's edge motif (Fig 5). Thick colored threads used in addition to the warp and weft threads of the woven ground made using the hiraori, or plain weaving, technique highlight the thread, and the undulation of the waves was achieved by adjusting the denseness of the woof thread. Yuzen dyeing was used to depict the motif of a water's edge scene. Dyeing the background fabric blue creates the exact impression of an ocean wave.

In 1943, a year after Yoko and Takashi were married, a daughter Sumiko was born. Sumiko inherited her father's musical talent, and became a cellist. Sumiko paved the way for female cellists in Japan. The long-sleeved kimono with flowing water, pine, bamboo and plum motif (Fig 6) was worn by Sumiko for the Shichi-go-san children's festival. As a motif containing symbols of eternity and perpetual youth and longevity it is most fitting for the Shichi-go-san festival.

obi obi obi obi
Fig 7: Obi with pine motif Fig 8: Nagoya Obi with ancient motif Fig 9: Nagoya Obi with peony arabesque motif Fig 10: Nagoya Obiwith lily motif

The modern era was the age of design. Designers looked for inspiration for their designs in a variety of modern and old art objects from the East and West. This is clearly demonstrated in obi. For example, the obi with pine motif (Fig 7) is based on the famous box with lid with pine and waves design in underglaze blue with gold and silver decoration (Important Cultural Property, Idemitsu Museum of Arts) made by Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743). The pattern of the Nagoya obi with ancient motif (Fig 8) copies the rokechi (wax resist) dyeing technique of the Nara period used on ancient textiles housed in the Shosoin. The Nagoya obi with peony arabesque motif (Fig 9) is a stylish obi made by painting the peony arabesque pattern onto white fabric using charcoal, and is a distinctive pattern that comes from a famous porcelain kiln in China called the Cizhou kiln.

There are also obi that are the product of the Kurata family's relationships with other people. The Nagoya obi with lily motif (Fig 10) was originally a plain black obi. The story is that the lilies were painted onto the obi in accordance with Yoko's style by good family friend and painter Goro Kado when he visited the family one day.

Shini-e for Nakamura Jusaburo III Shini-e for Onoe Kikugoro V

Obi-jime (obi cords) were the key to looking fashionable in a kimono. This is borne out by the thrill you get when looking at the four trays of neatly arranged braided cords (Fig 11). The majority of these were passed on to Yoko by her mother-in-law Junko. Most were made by the long-established store Domyo. Providing a choice of several colors, one can almost see them choosing a particular pattern in different colorways to go perfectly with a kimono and obi.

Many of the obi-jime have never been used, and even those that have been worn have been touched up by Domyo artisans to look like new and wrapped in new paper. It is thanks to Yoko's thorough care that today we are able to derive pleasure from the garments and accessories of the Kurata family.

Kazuto Sawada (Art History, Research Department)

[Reference]

Miyoko Suzuki, "Nagaoka Teruko no Yon Shimai -- Utsukushii Toshi no Kasanekata" ("Teruko Nagaoka and Her Sisters"), Soshisha, 2005