Plant Journeys blog #13 – Kimono and kimono pattern books

One of Hornel’s Japanese souvenirs is a kimono with beautiful maple leaf patterns. However, since its sleeves are short, it could be more accurately referred to as a kosode. Over time, ‘kimono’ has become the term for both.

Although Japanese people had started wearing Western-style clothing to some extent when Hornel first visited Japan in 1893, the kimono has remained the garment of choice, particularly in informal settings and at home. A silk kimono – or its everyday cotton version called yukata – became a popular souvenir for Western travellers.

A kimono is an unfitted garment wrapped around the body, using a sash to fasten it. This sash, known as an obi, can be quite intricate and serves as a prominent visual element of the whole design. The kimono extends from the neckline to the ankles; its sleeves could be long or short. The generous sleeves and hem offer plenty of space for artistic and detailed designs, which often reflect seasonal themes.

Some of the most intriguing objects in Hornel’s collection are the Japanese kimono pattern books. Pattern books were ubiquitous and covered many artisanal and commercial production categories such as textiles, pottery, lacquered goods, fusuma (sliding doors), etc. They were created using woodblock printing, with the earliest kimono patterns dating back to the late 17th century printed in black and white. These books depict the back of the garment, showcasing decorative motifs painted in ink, such as those found in Kosode no sugatami (Kimono in a Looking Glass) from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Hornel’s pattern books are later, from the Meiji period (1868–1912). They are multicoloured and often show the back of the kimono, though not in its entirety. While the earlier ones tended to feature patterns covering the back from the neckline to the hem, in the later ones the patterns tend to spread around the hem and some way upwards on the skirt, leaving the upper part of the kimono undecorated. It was, in fact, the increasing width of the obi which saw the change in the composition and placement of the patterns on the robe.

Similar pattern books can be found in other collections, for example Hanafubuki (Designs for kimonos) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Yachigusa in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

Dr Törmä’s research can be explored further in the Plant Journeys: Stories of East Asian Plants in Hornel’s Home and Garden exhibition, which runs until 31 October at Broughton House in Kirkcudbright.

Sources:

Gluckman, Dale Carolyn and Sharon Sadako Takeda, eds, When Art Became Fashion: Kosode in Edo-period Japan, [Exh. cat.], Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1992