Kimono

This cotton robe was made and worn in Okinawa, the largest of the islands in the Ryûkyûan archipelago that stretches to the south of mainland Japan. Until 1879, when it became part of Japan, the islands were an independent kingdom. Robes such as this were worn only by members of the Ryûkyûan royal family. The pattern - flowers on a pink ground of leaves - has been created using stencils and bright mineral pigments. This technique is known as 'bingata'.