Crested kimono with elaborate floral wax resist designs (hageito, nandina, biwa, camelia, daffodils, omoto, plums, thistles) against crackled pink-on-taupe ground, with embroidery in metallic threads
Minagawa Gekka
Description
These magnificent kimono were created by Minagawa Gekka, one of the greatest innovators in modern textile art. Gekka’s work is characterized by exotic motifs and complex techniques. Here, he drew the bursting tropical flowers and the family crest in paste and then dyed the fabric with base colors. Next, he added the crackled-ice pattern using an age-old wax-resist technique. After the paste was washed away to expose the white silk, he hand painted the flowers in colorful shades (white lines around the patterns are unpainted). Finally, he added embroidery in various metallic and velvet threads.
The original owner of these kimono was a pioneering female executive in mid-twentieth-century Tokyo who ran a successful real estate business. She and her four sisters ordered their kimono from prestigious shops that dealt with Kyoto manufacturers, and they often wore striking identical Gekka outfits.
(Label for UMMA Japanese Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
Subject Matter:
Flowers and trees represented in this kimono are traditionally considered fall and winter plants. The kimono is designed to be worn in these seasons. The “winter” plants such as nandin, camellias, narcissus, and plums are auspicious symbols; it is possible that this kimono was originally made for the New Year celebration.
Physical Description:
It is a pink silk crepe kimono with wax-resist patterns, hand-painted design and metallic threads embroidery. The kimono is in full length and has elongated sleeves. The fabric is dyed with pink, leaving the family crest under the collar and the floral design part white. The red scale pattern is added using wax-resist technique. Then the design of multiple kinds of plants is hand-painted with white, red, yellow, and pale and blue green colors. There are mix of fall and winter flowers and trees: nandin on the left sleeve, plum, chrysanthemums, thistles, amaranths, camellias and narcissus on the front and back, makino (Chloranthus glaber, with red berries) and more camellias on the right sleeve. Embroidery is added in various metallic threads around the contours of flowers and leaves.
Usage Rights:
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