Kimono with Blossoming Plum Tree
Not on view
Paste-resist dyeing, along with skillful use of a shading technique, finely renders the gradual progression from white to dark gray on this garment. Early Meiji period kimonos often have gray or black grounds and decoration concentrated along the hemline. Here, the plum tree, painted in ink and pigments and embroidered with silk and occasional glints of gold, seems to glow in soft moonlight, while the rest of the robe is in shadow. The design scheme is based on the kosode style that became popular among chōnin women at the end of the Edo period (1615–1868). Since the left panel overlaps the right, much of the plum-tree pattern would ordinarily be obscured, coming to light only as the wearer walked. Another plum tree is hidden on the lining inside the underflap.
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