A part taken from, Snow, the Moon and Cherry Blossoms by Uemura Shoen.
Kimono focuses on the inner world.
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The painting on the left is "Jo-no-Mai"(序の舞, 1936).
The original painting is the work of Uemura Shoen (上村松園,1875-1949) who is a well-known artist of Japanese paintings of beautiful women portraits (Bijin-ga, 美人画). This is Shoen's favorite painting from her many works. This artwork symbolizes the most ideal, beautiful image of Japanese women. "Jo-no-Mai"(序の舞) depicts a young woman performing an introductory dance in shimai (仕舞, Noh extracts performed in plain clothes and without musical accompaniment). Shoen explains in her own words that she portrayed "the dignity of a woman who is elegant yet resolute and austere" and "the strong will lurking in a woman ,which nothing can infringe." She gazes at the inner world of women and describes the essence of the performing arts including philosophical aspects. Shoen reveals the serenity, grace, dignified nobility and strong will of Japanese women through her paintings. Inherently Kimono functions as a means for women to stare silently into the center of the self. Because it makes women focus on a zone at the center of the stomach and limb movements may be limited. Essentially a Kimono allows Japanese people a way to feel introspection in the inner surface, and shows grace, gentleness, and nobility in the exterior. The painting on the left is "Waiting for the Moon" (Taigetsu 待月,1944) This painting expresses a woman who leans against a rail, waiting for the moon to appear. Shoen uses a unique Japanese painting style that describes space to give deep expression and meaning. This is one of her best works during her mature ages, her idea shows an elegant and graceful Japanese women. If you want to see more of her paintings, please check the Painting section. Please enjoy these photos of Kimono !
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These Kimonos represent harmony with nature, gentle elegance.
Smiling and looking at Sumida river in Tokyo.
A river is always flowing from upstream to downstream, and goes to the sea. The flowing is sometimes gentle or rushing and other times looks like a mirror without moving. Every time the phase is not same. Through this, the river suggests to us that we are always changing, and that we have to live like a river and nature. Standing close to a tree.
I can feel the pulse of my life in my body and I can hear the voices of nature at the same time, we are not separated. Everything in existence is interconnected. There is nothing that exists in isolation from others. |
Standing in front of Azalias.
May all people think peace, speak peace, carry out peace, and breath peace through nature. Looking at a figure from behind.
It is said that to look at a Japanese women from behind is very beautiful , feminine and voluptuous . |
Kimono is the fusion and harmony between nature, artisans and artists.
Through the process of making kimonos, it is necessary to choose fine thread and cloth. It depends on each area. The arts are produced with good water,
plants, animals-shellfish, crustaceans, insects, minerals-mud, and clay.
They also depend on the weather, the season, the condition of nature to make kimonos. Then, the design, the material, the feel of the kimonos are different
by each production region. To make kimonos one needs the best conditions in nature.
plants, animals-shellfish, crustaceans, insects, minerals-mud, and clay.
They also depend on the weather, the season, the condition of nature to make kimonos. Then, the design, the material, the feel of the kimonos are different
by each production region. To make kimonos one needs the best conditions in nature.
The pursuit of the beauty of kimonos through following two methods. We can classify kimonos into two categories, based on the material.
The first one is textile kimonos. The technique is to dye threads, raw silk first( Sakizome 先染め), and to weave cloth later. The representative example,
in textile kimonos, are Oshima-tsumugi (大島紬) in Amami-Oshima and Yuki-tsumugi(結城紬) in Ibaragi.
The other one is dyed kimonos. The technique is to weave cloth first, and to dye them later (Atozome 後染め). And the examples, in dyed kimonos, are
Kyo-yuzen(京友禅)in Kyoto and Kaga-yuzen (加賀友禅) in Kanazawa.
Below, on the right side is a photo of a kimono overcoat, this is a dyed one made by the method of Kyo-yuzen(京友禅). This is produced by a kimono artist,
Machiko Ueno (上野街子). She is the heir to the Ueno family (Ueno-ke 上野家) is a traditional Kyoto kimono artist family. She keeps the tradition of it, but
she creates her original designs at the same time. She has been making kimonos, overcoats and so on, by handpainting the design, paying careful attention, observing nature, choosing fine materials for each work that she considers would be the most suitable for it.
Below, on the left side is a photo of a kimono overcoat, this is also using the same dyeing method as the one on the right, but the cloth is different; it is called Chirimen (縮緬). The feature of this material is very fine projections on the surface. They are not seen by the naked eye, but when touching the cloth, we can understand the quality. This design depicts gorgeous orchids.
in textile kimonos, are Oshima-tsumugi (大島紬) in Amami-Oshima and Yuki-tsumugi(結城紬) in Ibaragi.
The other one is dyed kimonos. The technique is to weave cloth first, and to dye them later (Atozome 後染め). And the examples, in dyed kimonos, are
Kyo-yuzen(京友禅)in Kyoto and Kaga-yuzen (加賀友禅) in Kanazawa.
Below, on the right side is a photo of a kimono overcoat, this is a dyed one made by the method of Kyo-yuzen(京友禅). This is produced by a kimono artist,
Machiko Ueno (上野街子). She is the heir to the Ueno family (Ueno-ke 上野家) is a traditional Kyoto kimono artist family. She keeps the tradition of it, but
she creates her original designs at the same time. She has been making kimonos, overcoats and so on, by handpainting the design, paying careful attention, observing nature, choosing fine materials for each work that she considers would be the most suitable for it.
Below, on the left side is a photo of a kimono overcoat, this is also using the same dyeing method as the one on the right, but the cloth is different; it is called Chirimen (縮緬). The feature of this material is very fine projections on the surface. They are not seen by the naked eye, but when touching the cloth, we can understand the quality. This design depicts gorgeous orchids.
On the right side photo below is Oshima-tsumugi (大島紬).
Oshima-tsumugi (大島紬) are works produced in Amami-Oshima(奄美大島)in Kagoshima prefecture. The design has unique patterns, woven cloth with crosshatched weaves( Kasuri-ori 絣織り). This is very light and comfortable to wear.
On the left side photo below is Tsumugi (紬).
This kimono is made by adding a special method of tie-dyeing, using plant pigment, it is used on the part that is a green color. It looks like a checkered kimono with two colors, yellow and green.