5992: 1930's Japanese Meisen Silk Fabric, 58" Pieces (AraiHari)

5992: 1930s Meisen Silk yokodana,full view

Vintage Japanese Textiles:
1930s-1950's
Meisen Silk Fabric Piece

Width: 13.75 inches / 34.92 cm
Length: 58 inches / 147.32 cm

Catalog# 5992:

US$15.00 per piece

USA Shipping included under 4 pounds package weight

Fabric History/Pedigree: 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.

Fabric Description: Lightweight burgundy red meisen silk, slightly translucent; This is an older piece estimated as made in the 1930s to early 1950s; Meisen is defined literally as 'common silk stuff'; and has grown in popularity in the last few years; Meisen from that period are usually larger bold patterns and bright colors made similarly to kasuri (ikat) as to weaving and dyeing. See close-ups.

Fabric Motif: diamond-shaped figures that are4 inches (10.16cm) long composed of different geometric shapes, all in usual meisen impressionistic fuzzy edges; same on both sides.

Colors: Background is a burgundy-red with figures in light blue, mustard, off-white and fuzzy-pink. (see close-ups).

Condition: Excellent.

Background Meisen Silk 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.