Vintage & Antique Japanese Fabrics by Piece: Other Type Fabrics

5619: 1950's Japanese Meisen Silk Fabric, 14 x 59 Inches from Arai-Hari

5619 1950s meisen silk,full view pattern

Vintage Japanese Textiles:
1950s Meisen Silk Fabric Piece

Width: 14 inches / 35.56 cm
Length: 59 inches / 149.86 cm

Catalog# 5619:

US$15.00 per piece

USA Shipping included under 4 pounds package weight

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1950s meisen silk; 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. This is a 1940's-1950's piece;

Meisen is defined literally as 'common silk stuff'; and has grown in popularity in the last few years; it is a kasuri (ikat) type weave fabric with usually larger bold patterns and bright colors. See close-ups.

Fabric Type: Light weight Meisen silk; little sheen; same on both sides; Designs are of many different geometric shapes throughout in charcoal color lines, with large stylized flowers, the largest flowers are 5 inches by 6 inches (12.7 cm x 15.24 cm).

Colors: Background is dark mustard color with dark red, green and lavender grays used in the flower figures which rest on white backgrounds.

Condition: Excellent.

Cultural Notes: The best discussion we've found of Meisen silk fabric was on an old blog post by Japundit, excerpted here, from the early 2000's*:

"...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 is no longer on the internet.] more info on meisen is here.