Kimono Display

In Japan, kimono is a generic word that literally means “thing to wear”. While this could cover a wide range of garments, it is usually used to describe the full-length robe that people associate with Japanese attire.

In earlier times, Japanese clothing closely resembled Chinese-style robes. “During the Nara period (AD 710-794), however, garments resembling the kimono began to appear, and after Japan suspended contact with China. . . a style began to emerge that became uniquely Japanese” (Jenni Dobson. Making Kimono and Japanese Clothing. London: Batsford, 2008).

Through October 19, the Art and Music Center will display a contemporary art style kimono designed by Northern California fiber artist Sharon Cahn. Colorful reproductions of book covers from books about kimono are displayed as well.


For further reading, the following books may be of interest:

The Book of Kimono by Norio Yamanaka. (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1986).

Fashioning Kimono by Reiko Mochinaga Brandon and others. (Milan: 5 Continents, 2005).

Kimono as Art by Itchiku Kubota. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2008).

Kimono: Fashioning Culture by Liza Crihfield Dalby. (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1993).

Kimonos by Sophie Milenovich. (New York: Abrams, 2007).

Knit Kimono by Vicki Square. (Loveland, Colo.: Interweave Press, 2007).

When Art Became Fashion by Dale Carolyn Gluckman. (Calif.: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1992).