Kimono Vanishing Tradition


Book Description

Kimono is a generic term for traditional Japanese clothing; it means thing to wear. This book provides an overview of some traditional garments, introduces types of designs found in twentieth century kimono that are still available, and presents wearable art inspired by kimono from contemporary artists. Over 525 color photographs display brilliant and subtle textile designs and demonstrate beauty in mens, womens, and childrens garments and accessories.




Kimono, Vanishing Tradition


Book Description

History -- Yukata-cotton robes -- Nagajuban-undergarments -- Women's kimono -- Tomesode-kimono for formal occasions -- The obi and accessories -- Women's haori-short silk jackets -- Michiyuki-overcoats -- Men's apparel -- Uchikake and furisode -- Children's kimono -- Furoshiki & fukusa-ceremonial cloths -- Religious & ceremonial wear -- Fragments into finery-Japanese textiles renewed




Traditional Kimono Silks


Book Description

Photos of kimono remnants, chiefly of the Showa period, with identification and dates from designers and collectors in Japan.




Vanishing Japan


Book Description

This classic text of Japanese culture contains a wealth of information about traditional Japan and Japanese customs. Pawnshops and handmade paper, shoe shiners and Shinto jugglers, money rakes and mosquito netting--all these were once a familiar part of daily life in Japan. Many elements of that daily life, like the Obon dances and oreiboko apprenticeships, have no counterpart in any other culture: they are purely unique to Japan. But with the tremendous changes of the modern age, most traces of traditional life in Japan are fast disappearing, soon to be gone forever. Still, there are a few holdouts, especially in Japan's shitamachi, or working-class neighborhoods, where many of the survivors of Japanese crafts, art forms, and festivals are making their last stand. Vanishing Japan is a must-read for tourists, historians, architects, or artists who are interested in Japanese culture.




The Guide to Kimono


Book Description

To educate people on the basics of kimono.




Textiles of Japan


Book Description

From rugged Japanese firemen's ceremonial robes and austere rural work-wear to colorful, delicately-patterned cotton kimonos, this lavishly illustrated volume explores Japan's rich tradition of textiles. Textiles are an eloquent form of cultural expression and of great importance in the daily life of a people, as well as in their rituals and ceremonies. The traditional clothing and fabrics featured in this book were made and used in the islands of the Japanese archipelago between the late 18th and the mid 20th century. The Thomas Murray collection featured in this book includes daily dress, work-wear, and festival garb and follows the Arts and Crafts philosophy of the Mingei Movement, which saw that modernization would leave behind traditional art forms such as the hand-made textiles used by country people, farmers, and fisherman. It presents subtly patterned cotton fabrics, often indigo dyed from the main islands of Honshu and Kyushu, along with garments of the more remote islands: the graphic bark cloth, nettle fiber, and fish skin robes of the aboriginal Ainu in Hokkaido and Sakhalin to the north, and the brilliantly colored cotton kimonos of Okinawa to the far south. Numerous examples of these fabrics, photographed in exquisite detail, offer insight into Japan's complex textile history as well as inspiration for today's designers and artists. This volume explores the range and artistry of the country's tradition of fiber arts and is an essential resource for anyone captivated by the Japanese aesthetic.




Fashioning Japanese Subcultures


Book Description

Western fashion has been widely appreciated and consumed in Tokyo for decades, but since the mid-1990s Japanese youth have been playing a crucial role in forming their own unique fashion communities and producing creative styles which have had a major impact on fashion globally. Geographically and stylistically defined, subcultures such as Lolita in Harajuku, Gyaru and Gyaru-o in Shibuya, Age-jo in Shinjuku, and Mori Girl in Kouenji, reflect the affiliation and identities of their members, and have often blurred the boundary between professionals and amateurs for models, photographers, merchandisers and designers. Based on insightful ethnographic fieldwork in Tokyo, Fashioning Japanese Subcultures is the first theoretical and analytical study on Japan's contemporary youth subcultures and their stylistic expressions. It is essential reading for students, scholars and anyone interested in fashion, sociology and subcultures.




The Silk Weavers of Kyoto


Book Description

The makers of obi, the elegant and costly sash worn over kimono in Japan, belong to an endangered species. These families of manufacturers, weavers, and other craftspeople centered in the Nishijin weaving district of Kyoto have practiced their demanding craft for generations. In recent decades, however, as a result of declining markets for kimono, they find their livelihood and pride harder to sustain. This book is a poignant exploration of a vanishing world. Tamara Hareven integrates historical research with intensive life history interviews to reveal the relationships among family, work, and community in this highly specialized occupation. Hareven uses her knowledge of textile workers' lives in the United States and Western Europe to show how striking similarities in weavers' experiences transcend cultural differences. These very rich personal testimonies, taken over a decade and a half, provide insight into how these men and women have juggled family and work roles and coped with insecurities. Readers can learn firsthand how weavers perceive their craft and how they interpret their lives and view the world around them. With rare immediacy, The Silk Weavers of Kyoto captures a way of life that is rapidly disappearing.




Geisha


Book Description

Ever since Westerners arrived in Japan, we have been intrigued by geisha. This fascination has spawned a wealth of fictional creations from Madame Butterfly to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The reality of the geisha's existence has rarely been described. Contrary to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes but literally arts people. Their accomplishments might include singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument but, above all, they are masters of the art of conversation, soothing worries of highly paid businessmen who can afford their attentions. The real secret history of the geisha is explored here.




Vanishing Asia


Book Description

This is a 3-volume set of oversize books that span the continent of Asia. Ancient and beautiful traditions in Asia that are rapidly disappearing are recorded here in 9,000 images on 1,000 pages. The author has visited 35 countries in Asia and has travelled to the end of the road in its most remote places to capture the costumes, architecture, festivals, and lifestyles that are vanishing. The diverse cultures range from Turkey in the west to Japan in the east, from Siberia in the north to Indonesia in the south, and everything in between. Volume 1 covers West Asia, Volume 2 Central Asia, and Volume 3 East Asia. Every one of its 1,000 pages is uniquely designed, and every one of its 9,000 images is captioned. This is an ambitious and extreme passion project that the author/photographer has worked on for 49 years. Many of the scenes depicted in the book are now gone from the world, and others are becoming rarer by the day. There is no other book like it.