Vintage Japanese Kimono Fabrics by Pieces: Japanese Textile Silk Fabric Swatches

7227:1930-50s Japanese Meisen Silk 60 in. Piece(AraiHari)

Catalog# 7227

1930s-1950s Japanese Textiles:

From Arai-Hari Cleaners
Japanese Kimono Meisen Silk Fabric Piece

Width: 14.25 inches / 36.2 cm
Length: 60 inches / 152.4 cm

US$15.00 per piece

Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1950s or earlier silk fabric pieces received from traditional Japanese kimono cleaner/reconstructor called Arai-Hari -- see an excellent explanation of traditional Arai Hari by textile expert John Marshall, by click-pushing HERE.
Fabric Description: Meisen silk, lightweight and only barely translucent, slightly stiff; a mock-kasuri ikat type rendering of the motifs; designs are of rectangular shapes, staggered along both sides; large shapes are 4.5 inches X 8 inches X 3 inches (10l16cm X 20.32cm X 7.62cm); each figure has the letter X shapes; please view all pictures; the background is a dark-brownish gray, and the designs are in black, gray, and iron-red; please note the intentionally fuzzy edges as typical of this period's Meisen silks. This piece same on both sides; no sheen.

CONDITION NOTE: Due to some light water stains at places 2.5 inches(6.4cm) from the selvage in on the left, we consider this as sold as 11 Inches of good fabric X 60 inches (27.94cm X 152.4), thus reducing price to US$10.00 per piece. Please view our last closeup image for the water stain.
Colors: Please NOTE that colors and contrast differ on each device so use our text descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric.
Condition: Good (as noted).

Background Information on Meisen Kimonos:

Meisen is defined literally in our Kenkyuusha dictionary as "...common silk stuff"; meisen fabrics (or garments made from them) are currently called 'meisen'; Meisen kimono were made similarly to kasuri (ikat) , though meisen usually have very colorful patterns with distinct -- often more modern -- motifs and a slight sheen; 1950s meisen have intentionally fuzzy, almost Impressionistic look and often larger designs; Kasuri/ikat, of course, is mostly indigo blue and some white with black. To learn more about kasuri click here.

To see pictures of meisen silk vintage kimonos from Google, touch HERE.

Other Cultural Notes: The best discussion we've found of Meisen silk fabric was on an old blog post by Japundit, excerpted here*:

"...Young women have rediscovered (Japan Times) the kimono, and you can see them out in Harajuku on the Sunday fashion parade. There's even a term for these girls -- not surprisingly they are called "kimono girls." There are even some nice books documenting the trend which you can check out at J-List and are definitely worth having if you are at all into fashion.

"The meisen kimono in particular has become very popular. These kimono were made in the first half of the twentieth century, and were characterized by a glossy sheen, and brilliant patterns. There is often a sort of blurry quality to the silks...."

[*original article has been pulled]

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