Vintage Japanese Kimono Fabrics by Pieces: Japanese Textile Fabric Swatches

7931:1950s Japanese Meisen Silk 55in.Pc. (AraiHari) Kasuri-Like Geometric Designs

7931: 1930s Meisen Kasuri-like Silk, 55in.

Catalog# 7931

1950s Japanese Textiles:
From Arai-Hari Cleaners

Japanese Kimono Meisen Silk Fabric Piece
Kasuri-like Designs Geometric Clusters, Patterns on Solid Maroon Color

Width: 14 inches / 35.56 cm
Length: 55 inches / 139.8 cm

US$19.00 per piece
plus shipping

Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1930s-1950s silk fabric pieces received from a traditional Japanese kimono cleaner/reconstructor called Arai-Hari -- see an excellent explanation of traditional Arai Hari by John Marshall, expert on Japanese textiles HERE .)

Fabric Description: This Meisen silk, is a lightweight summer-type fabric, translucent but not sheer; with a fairly smooth feel to the touch, the background is a solid dark burgundy red color(similar to Japanese red bean paste); Note that these designs were more commonly seen in cotton ikat/kasuri, but instead this is silk ; The motifs are rows if figures in staggered diagonal array; Each element is about 3.5 inches / 8.89cm squared; these elements are white with five small dark aqua-blue accents (each is half-inch long); note the intentionally and typical Meisen fuzzy edges to all figures & lines; This piece is same on both sides; slight sheen; better quality silk; some might label this as 'mock-kasuri' silk due to the patterns described.
Colors: Please NOTE that colors and contrast differ on each device, so please use our text descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric.
Condition: Excellent.
Recommended for making scarves/accessories.

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 an intentionally fuzzy, almost Impressionistic look and 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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