Archive Blog :

September 22, 2021(updated Oct 18, 2021:

We are happy to announce that we now offer discounted shipping rates for our international customers using GlobalPost ( GoGlobalPost.com).

  We came across these pictures on a Japanese-language website, Youtouch.com. Starting in 2017 and then most recently (October 7, 2021), they explain how these dresses were upcycled, made from 1950s-1960s vintage kimonos, deconstructed and made into both wedding gowns and other fashionable dresses/gowns; some are then made available as rentals (in Japan). To see full pictures of these lovely dresses please visit 2017 blog HERE , and 2021 blog HERE. Also, in early 2020, one of our customers (Below, Pam T., Canada) shared with us her own wedding kimono made from our "A Package" vintage silk women's kimonos:   To...

ANNOUNCING NEW TYPES OF BULK KIMONO & FABRIC LOTS PACKAGES:September 28, 2021 Background: We have been bringing in tons(literally) of vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics every year since 1998. All these years we have been putting aside any unusual or distinctive pieces as we go about our routine sorting for filling orders for our main product, our "A Package ( 110-A), Womens Silk Package". Since we've done this for years and - before the Pandemic - frankly didn't give all of them much thought until we realized how much we had accumulated. So, early in 2021, as we made space...

NEWS FOR OUR USA CUSTOMERS:We just learned that the US Postal Service (USPS) announced an increase in shipping costs during what they call "Holiday Peak Season". This will affect our USA customers selecting First Class (Packages),Priority Mail, Express Mail, and Parcel Post Select. It will NOT affect any international shipments. This begins October 3 and ends December 26, 2021. We have relatively new Fed Ex Ground and United Parcel Service Ground rates available and in most zip codes (especially West Coast USA) savings can be as much as 40% cheaper than USPS. At present the new UPS rate does not reflect...

WAITLIST UPDATE:We have resumed filling and shipping  bulk kimono package pre-orders and waitlist orders received during our recent absence. We still have a few of our bulk kimono packages on wait-list status only. To see list of packages now on waitlist-only, and to learn more about the waitlist, please visit our waitlist info page HERE. To submit a waitlist request please use the following email address ONLY:   (Not a link)

This past spring(2021) we posted a blog about the trend among young college-aged Japanese women to wear women's hakama over a formal kimono at graduation time and other special occasions. (Above image: hakama-bijin.com) During the closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics we were surprised - and pleased - to see this fashion trend among young women in Japan being showcased as part of the final ceremonies . Below we share pictures of  Olympics kimonos-with-hakama from various public media sources (also, note the footwear types): Below: Other Types of Kimono on Display During 2020 Olympics Closing Ceremonies Lastly, as...

Above: 2021 Obon Lantern Floating Ceremony / Virtual Marketplace FYI from Japanphilly.org about this summer's Obon festival plans:  The 9th annual Philadelphia Obon Festival continues a new Shofuso tradition, born out of the hardships of the previous year, to light lanterns and float them on Shofuso’s pond dedicated to those no longer with us. The Registered participants can launch floating lanterns on Shofuso’s pond. Obon is a series of events in Japan that enshrine the spirits of ancestors in the summer that are based on Buddhism and Ancestral worship. Typically, in Japan, between August 13-15 (depending on the region), people...

What is this? We happened upon this old web magazine article on web-japan.org, a cultural site run by the Japanese government. It featured a Niponica web magazine article from 2013 that we're sure is of interest to many of our visitors and customers. It's banner header is:   Japanese Fabrics Have Their Global Reputation Wrapped Up Topics Listed: How to Wrap Something in a FuroshikiTextiles and JapanDyeing and WeavingModern Fabrics for Today's LifestylesJapanese High-Tech Textiles Circle the World, and BeyondCloth Signs Add Color to Urban LandscapesTasty Japan: Time to Eat! Inari-zushiStrolling Japan: Okinawa, Islands of ClothSouvenirs of Japan: Furoshiki Cloth for...

(Image: wattention.com) YOKODANA.COM STATUS UPDATEMay 15, 2021Questions we're being asked lately: 1. Question: Is YokoDana still bringing in vintage bulk kimonos and fabrics from Japan during COVID?   Our Answer: We hope this finds you well and coping during the Pandemic. It's been a year like no other, but we're happy to report that in spite of the Pandemic, we and ours are well and we continue to gather vintage kimonos and fabrics in Japan. However, due to continuing COVID restrictions there, as well as the on-going effect on global and USA inland shipping, we simply are not getting our re-supply shipments...

 Interesting use of hakama....and boots! The college school year in Japan ends in March. We recently came across pictures of graduates from Nihon Daigaku (Japan University) in a blog from tokyobling.wordpress.com, from May, 2012. Thought our visitors might enjoy seeing how Japanese youth of today adapt their use of traditional kimono wear(kitsuke).(scroll down for more....)  Here's a brief excerpt from that blog: Posted in "Japanese Traditions, People, Places" by tokyobling on May 24, 2012: In March, the traditional month for all university graduations in Japan, I happened to be in Tokyo’s Kudanshita district, just near the Budokan in the Kitamaru...

Amami Ohshima Tsumugi Sightseeing GardenAmami Ohshima Island, Japan Ohshima Tsumugi-Mura: Contemporary Maker on Amami Ohshima Island, Japan, 2021 What's this about? In our routine searches for images and information about the vintage Japanese textiles we sell, we came across a Japanese language website which is somewhat of a tourist (Sightseeing) destination on Amami Ohshima island in Japan, the place where various mud and plant-based pongee silk fabrics have been made by hand for centuries. We were happy that they have an English version of this website, and were equally pleased to see some information and pictures of the making of...

One of the joys we experience in selling beautiful vintage and antique Japanese fabrics is to see the endless ways that our customers use them creatively. We were delighted when Lisa, a long-time customer of yokodana.com, sent us the above  picture with an email explaining how she made the wall hanging using YokoDana's asa(hemp) fabrics . We loved what she did with her fabrics and thank her for letting us share it here. Here's her letter to us:  Hi Yoko,I started a project wall-hanging almost a year ago, with 3 panels of a sheer Asa in a fabulous MCM pattern. There...

We now accept payments using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin   Litecoin Ethereum Bitcoin Cash Dai US Dollar Coin    To learn more, please visit our information page HERE.

Website Review:  www.getamashi.com   BACKGROUND: Since we started yokodana.com in 1998 we have tried to share with our visitors and customers whenever we find quality sites relevant to the themes of our own website. In fact, we have a dedicated page where we keep a running list of such sites and resources HERE.  For a number of years in the 00's, until about 2015, we had a link to a USA woodwork company that made beautiful kimono lacquered display stands at an excellent price; also, in that same time frame we had recommended a Japan-based Geta-maker that was recommended to us by some of our...

Lauren Chong Sng, ABCRags (USA): Sakiori and much more made from vintage kimonos We like to post on our web site when people have creatively used our vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics in their work, so we are happy to share here the work of a customer, Lauren Sng of ABCRags in California. We have loved the things she posts on Instagram (@abcrags), and are particularly fond of her sakiori weaving pieces. We are pleased to share just a few of the things she makes using not only our vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics, but from many sources. Such a...

Pam T., CanadaCustomer Showcase: Here on yokodana.com we like to post on our web site when people have creatively used our vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics in their work, so we are happy to share pictures and emails from Pam T. of Calgary, Canada who made her wedding dress  from a vintage kimono.  Starting in January of this year (2020) Pam approached us saying she wanted to use a vintage kimono to make her own wedding dress. She ended up getting our “A Package”. In a series of emails to us since then, she shared the story of her process of...

We came across this in a Facebook group, and since we regularly get requests for information on how to make a kimono, thought we should post this here from a German lady with expertise in kitsuke: https://youtu.be/rW-Cz9HbkqA Let us know your opinions on this, whether we should list it in our FAQ info as a reliable resource.

Yamaki Bonsai Pine, 390 years old, survived Atomic Bomb blast in Hiroshima. Interesting story here.

Above: Purse Front View:Day Care Nursery, Children(More pictures below) Background: We feel that the Japanese word "furusato" doesn't translate very well to English, as furusato connotes much more than just one's 'hometown'. As we detail elsewhere on our site, YokoDana KImono's owner's furusato (home town) is in Kumamoto prefecture, Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. From time to time we like to blog about things from home, usually topics that center around themes of our website (cultural and historical information, kimonos, traditional Japanese textiles, creative Japanese textile arts, and crafts).  But this blog post is a bit different:...

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY UPDATE: We discontinued our Product 110-CTN-5 5lbs cotton packages at the end of 2019. However, from time to time we still offer some variation on these cottons, but are only available to members in a member lottery. Background story: For years (Since about 2000) we have been offering special packages of excellent older Japanese cotton fabrics in by-pound lots. Our most recent cotton product has been a five or ten-pound collection of mixed vintage / antique Japanese pieces of cotton, including furoshiki, kasuri, kimono and various remnants sold as our product # 110-CTN-5 . Unfortunately, due to the extremely long wait-times for this...

YokoDana Kimono's Statement about COVID19: We have been on lock-down here in Delaware USA for over three months now and been more than busy filling orders the whole time. It appears that folks are gathering things for projects to do -- hobby or business-wise -- during the Pandemic. We ourselves -- including family in USA and Japan -- are well. We want to thank the many who have been writing to check in on us, your thoughtfulness is much appreciated. We also have been getting many questions about the status of our supplies of vintage kimonos (for our bulk kimono...

We have just updated our FAQ information page pertaining to kimono culture, and given the popularity of one of the sites listed there, Immortal Geisha, we thought we should post it here more visibly in our blog in light of substantial changes in the last year or so with Immortal Geisha. So, in answer to a question from a visitor/customer of ours, the following update is provided: Do you know of any other forums or resources about kitsuke (wearing kimono) and/or authentic geisha-related information? For many years Immortal Geisha -- first as a website in the 2000's, and then as a content-rich...

Thanks to those who have asked us how we're faring, your emails and social media messages are much appreciated. We are on our 13th day of self-imposed lockdown here in Delaware. We decided to do this before it was mandated in our state out of an abundance of caution.  We are well and have been religiously following all the CDC guidance as to hand-washing, disinfections, 6-feet distancing, etc. As we are in a high-risk group, we simply decided to remain inside since March 18th. As far as our business goes, we are open and filling orders, as well as adding more fabrics...

Above: From The Spoon-Tamago.com Dispatch, March 13, 2020: We continue to totally love the newsletter from this web site business. Outstanding, timely and creative information around themes of Japanese culture, arts & history, new and old. Check out this timely piece about epidemics, at link below: Amabie: the Japanese Yokai That Can Stave Off Epidemic http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2020/03/13/amabie-japanese-epidemic-yokai/

Below we are excerpting here some pictures and comments from our Furusato--Hometown page of this site. We post these here to share how Japanese of today are honoring traditional customs and still doing so with modern twists. Pay special attention to the kimonos and accessories particularly of the girls in these various photos, blending old and new creatively. YokoDana Kimono Owner's Family Photos Japan: 2020 Above -- YokoDana.com's Owner's Nephew's Family: Note the twins in blue hifu  (Hifu is a special hand-made vest for age 3 of Shichi-Go-San Celebration); Hifu Buttons are handmade using the same fabric. Flower buttons are Tsumami-zaiku crafted by Aunt Honami...

Jacket Made from YokoDana’s Vintage Ohshima Tsumugi Silk Kimono -- Carol Lambright Many of our customers are what we call, affectionately, creative types: All have a passion for their craft, whether they call themselves artisans, artists, designers, quilters, stitchers or multi-media artists – regardless of their moniker -- for years we have enjoyed seeing old vintage Japanese textiles we sell by the pound be reborn into something new -- yet old.  One recent feedback that we received comes from Carol Lambright, an Oregon, USA customer. Last year she bought a 10lb package of old Ohshima Tsumugi (pongee) Silks (see more about...

V&A 2020 Kimono Exhibit in LondonKimono: Kyoto to Catwalk, Previews 1800-1830, Kyoto, Photo Credits on vam.ac.uk  If you are lucky enough to be in England or able to travel to London, and share our interest in kimono culture, you should check out this London Exhibition, "Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk" at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which recently opened and runs until June 21, 2020.  The Victoria and Albert Museum, called "V&A" for short, has a Youtube page with a preview of the exhibit (click-push HERE to see it.) Their summary of the exhibition is below: This exhibition will present the kimono...

We love to show off the work of YokoDana.com's customers from around the world who use our  vintage Japanese kimono fabrics in their creative work of all kinds. We recently received fabric orders from Karina Hesketh, a designer from northern England. She is a member of The Guild of Master Craftsmen in the United Kingdom. We saw pictures of some of her work and decided to share them here on our website as another example of how our customers engage in   "re-purposing" or "upcycling" the vintage Japanese textiles they get from us at YokoDana Kimono and elsewhere --  giving these special old...

(Photos: Spoon-Tamago.com) Pictures of fog in Kikuchi Valley, Kumamoto, yokodana.com's owner's furusato (hometown).  Spoon-tamago.com has a wonderful newsletter and this is from a recent one. Kikuchi is close to the village where Yoko Lewis grew up. Just felt like sharing.... (smile)

Family Pictures: Girls' Ceremonial Kimonos  Well, we're finally back to our normal schedule, after having given ourselves an unusually long (for us) vacation over the holidays. We have caught up with all orders received during our being away and off-grid. Thanks to all who waited so patiently while we rested and recuperated -- so we're all re-charged and looking forward to another great year on yokodana.com! Here's what's going on with us as we slide into 2020: 1. Venues: We are resuming preparations for our two 2020 spring venues at Cherry Blossom Festivals in Philadelphia and New York City (Brooklyn...

HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS:

While supplies last--

Sale Prices on the following bulk kimono packages:

• 1950's Meisen Kimonos, 10lbs (110-MSN) click HERE:
  List Price: US$115.00 / 10lbs, Now: US$90.00 while supplies last.

• Rare Ohshima Tsumugi Kimonos, 10lbs (110-OHSHIMA) click HERE:  List Price: US$90.00 / 10lbs, Now: US$75.00 while supplies last.

Shichi-Go-San Kimonos -- Family Pics 2019 Above and below areYokoDana Kimono's (yokodana.com) owner Yoko Lewis' Nieces' children dressed for Shichi-Go-San at our local shrine in Yamaga, Japan. We love this picture for several reasons: First, because of the fact that the three ages (7,5,3) are represented, and, a boy cousin not in kimono squatted to get in the picture; Second, the tallest girl in the center is wearing a very old vintage kimono which has been in the family for several generations, topped with a beret, earrings, a lace shawl, and leather boots instead of zori; and third, the two smaller...

We saw this recently and love this picture of all aged women wearing their "funky" meisen kimonos, posted on a Japanese travel website wattention.com: 2019 Sample Picture of "Funky Kimono" Meisen Wearers (Picture: Wonderland Japan, WAttention.com ) To learn about our bulk packages of these kinds of Meisen Silk kimonos from the 1950s and earlier, please visit HERE.

Saw this remarkable picture on a Facebook group, and just love it:    From Anji Salz (Tokyo) Facebook: Long time no Nihongami 👘💫I took inspiration from Edo period ukiyo-e and then layered two antique kimono over my red silk juban.Each kimono is only tied with one koshihimo tie!! No unnecessary stuff like nowadays. The obi is also tied with no string at all - and I’m telling you:THIS IS THE MOST COMFORTABLE I’VE EVER BEEN IN KIMONO 👘😱🤭❤️ Anji's main facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/anji.salz

Recent store update on www.yokodana.com: October 30, 2019: Announcing more fabrics added to our fabrics-by-piece or yard section, including this 1930's Kinsha silk with unusual kokeshi-doll motif shown below; Link to most recently added pieces HERE: 5866: 1930's Kinsha Silk by Piece (Kokeshi Dolls) Link to most recently added pieces HERE:

  Christine Williams Organza Appliqués NOTE: We like to share on our web site when people have creatively used our vintage Japanese kimono fabrics in their artistic work. Christine Williams of California (USA) sent us some sample pictures of how she had used our vintage kimono fabrics so we asked her to tell us about the pictures and anything about them she cared to share. Yoko Lewis  Back Story: Since 1998 we have been frequently amazed -- and impressed -- with the varied ways in which folks creatively use our vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics. In fact, we have been keeping a running list of them HERE.  Actually,...

Jennifer Morales -- Textile Artist: Hand-Made Accessories using Meisen Silks Back Story: Since 1998 we have been frequently amazed -- and impressed -- with the varied ways in which folks creatively use our vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics. In fact, we have been keeping a running list of them HERE.  Actually, up until 2016 we used to have a "Guest Gallery" on our website for customers to  showcase things which they had made from kimonos or fabrics which they purchased on www.yokodana.com -- or bought in person at one of our venues. However, over time we had not kept it up to date, so when we upgraded our...

FYI For our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area kitsuke & Japanophile folks:  August 24th, 2019 (Sat.) is a chance to wear your yukata (or whatever kitsuke) and experience Obon festival dancing, Taiko drumming, food and more. Sorry we won't be there but it's always a special event we recommend:Yoko LewisYokoDana Kimono Presents: Philadelphia Obon Festival 2019 (banner & images source: Japanphilly.org) From Japanphilly.org newsletter about this year's Obon at Fairmount Park (Shofuso): Obon is a Japanese celebration of one’s ancestors. Each August, people return to their hometowns to remember the dead and reunite with loved ones. Obon is celebrated with regional dances...

YokoDana Kimono website Updates  News about fabric pieces updates, July 31, 2019: Background Story:  Each year we import tons of vintage Japanese kimonos to our Delaware USA location. All year long, in the daily course of filling orders for our main products -- bulk kimonos by pound -- we set aside distinctive and special pieces or lots of fabrics that come with our bulk kimono pickings, as well as selecting some garments for deconstruction here. About those Traditional Arai-Hari Cleaners: Also, we have relationships in Japan with Arai-Hari (those traditional kimono cleaners who provide us with so many interesting pieces); To...

Tokyo Weekender is a long-standing publication based in Tokyo, originally founded in 1970 as an English language print periodical for expatriates living in Japan. Back in the day we used it when we lived in Japan but hadn't seen it ourselves for some time until one of their correspondents, Sarah B Hodges, recently published articles on kimono culture, which came up on Facebook – so, as we enjoyed them so much we want to share them here on our blog. If you are an enthusiast of Japanese Culture, particularly what we like to call kimono culture, we highly recommend these...

  1. YokoDana Kimono Office & Shipping Schedule June - July 2019: We will be travelling intermittently this summer, which will affect our shipping schedule. Our website will be open as always for orders, but we will not have shipments going out for the following dates: Friday, June 21, 2019 to Monday, July 1, 2019. Wednesday, July 3, 2019 to July 7, 2019.While out of the office we will monitor order logs, messages and emails daily. If you are a commercial customer with standing orders, we will communicate with you privately about your shipping schedule.  2. News of our bulk...

  This blog post is not necessarily directly related to the usual themes of our website www.yokodana.com (Japanese culture, vintage kimono, traditional Japanese textile art etc.). However, we were so struck by the beauty and use of colors (ombre’) of a hand-dyed shawl pictured on Facebook, that we wanted to share it with our visitors -- who we’re sure will enjoy it. So, we contacted the folks running the website www.thebluebrick.ca -- a couple in Canada -- and they agreed to let us post some of their pictures. After visiting their website and studying their Ombre’ collection in particular, it...

www.thestalkerbrand.com BACK-STORY: In 1998 we started selling our authentic, vintage Japanese kimonos and fabrics online. Since then we have had an ever-growing number of artists, artisans, designers, quilters and multi-media ‘creative types’ use our fabrics and kimonos.  Now, in our 21st year on yokodana.com, we believe that a near majority of our customers are some sort of entrepreneur or small business. Our customers range from large famous brands you might see in Macy’s or similar stores (but who won’t let us give out their names) to small shops, brick-and-mortar stores and web-only businesses world-wide. It is a great source of...

 UPDATE: April 13, 2019, 2:30 PM EDT -- Based on current weather forecast, we WILL be there tomorrow. We may not fully put out things until late morning when the rain is supposed to stop. Weather said to then  be cloudy until early evening when showers come in. SO....we'll be there! WEB DISCOUNT CODE: For this show, it will be ZEN-SUSHI . Please just tell us BEFORE checking out.   We've been preparing all year for our two in-person venues this spring. Our first of the season is at the Philadelphia Sakura Matsuri called "Sakura Sunday" which is Sunday, April...

SITE REVIEW: KimonoAsobi.com Since starting and running websites in 1998 (mainly www.yokodana.com, our home site and web store of YokoDana KImono) we have always loved little sites that folks start out of a specific passion -- we call them niche sites. They are always acts of love at first. But the kind of niche sites we love are those where someone is just passionate, even a bit crazy, about a particular area of interest, and end up sometimes with encyclopedic coverage of their area of interest. But then, because of the love and attention to detail -- plus reams of...

KimonoRefashioned: Exhibit at The Asian Art MuseumSan Francisco, CaliforniaFebruary 8, 2019 to May 5, 2019 One of our customers pointed out this special kimono exhibit featured on asianart.org recently and we loved the pictures of what's being shown at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco until May 5, 2019. Images Source Citations: The pictures here are from asianart.org: sources -- Asian Art Museum and The Kyoto Costume Institute (Takashi Hatakeyama)  http://infocus.asianart.org/kimonorefashioned There are many other splendid pictures on the site, view HERE. Paragraph below gives their overview of the exhibit: FEBRUARY 8 – MAY 5, 2019In the early 1980s,...

We came across some stunning kimonos made with African fabrics on Facebook and followed links to NextShark.com  posted some wonderful pictures on Facebook. Their website explains these kimonos on the website (View more pics HERE) Cameroonian Serge Mouangue and Japanese kimono designer Kururi have successfully blended both culture’s aesthetics in the new line of kimonos by making use of Africa’s striking motifs and colorful patterns.